Profile: Game appoints Guy Lister as its new chief operating officer

It is a surprise move for Lister, who has established himself as a fashion specialist. He cut his teeth at Marks & Spencer, where he spent 16 years working across disciplines including buying, merchandising and retail ops, before taking roles at River Island, New Look and most recently shoe specialist Office.

However, executive search firm Oresa’s chief executive Orlando Martins says Lister can make the switch from clothing to computer games. “Whilst he has predominantly been in fashion this has included private, public and private equity-backed businesses that cross the scale from slow and bureaucratic to entrepreneurial and agile. He can adapt,” he says.

Lister joins Game at a challenging time for the retailer. Game issued a profit warning following a sluggish Christmas and full-year UK retail sales plunged 12.7% in the year to July 30.

However, the retailer has a plan to shift its business away from consoles, which rely on new releases to stimulate sales, and try to exploit the growing e-sports and competitive gaming markets.

Last year Game bought Multiplay, which owns gaming events such as the Insomnia festival in Coventry that attracts between 30,000 and 40,000 gamers over a weekend.

Creating a game-changing business

The retailer is seeking to build a community of gamers and even integrate gaming tournaments into larger Game stores.

Lister’s fashion background could be very useful because fashion retail is as much about building a lifestyle and creating a community as selling clothes.

At Game, Lister will lead retail operations, including stores and ecommerce, supply chain, marketing and finance.

One former New Look colleague described him as a “great all-rounder”, putting him in good stead to tackle this wide-reaching role.

“Unlike his gamer customers, Lister is more likely to be found exploring the great outdoors than challenging a teenager in the Philippines to a game of virtual combat”

He has worked in stores and buying and merchandising at M&S, in ecommerce and international at River Island, marketing and multichannel at New Look and most recently covered all things customer-related at Office. 

Martins believes Lister is one to watch. ”He is considered a CEO of the future and this will be a step to consolidating his experience for the top job,” he says.

Multichannel man

Lister is best known for his multichannel prowess and Martins describes him as an “early adopter” of digital.

One former New Look colleague says he was very focused on joining the online and offline experience, and during his time there his multichannel initiatives helped to drive New Look’s turnaround.

He launched click-and-collect, order in-store and pushed m-commerce, which grew more than 50% in his first year in charge.

Game boss Martyn Gibbs believes Lister can make a real difference to its multichannel business. “Guy has the experience to lead the continued development of our UK multichannel offer and drive forward a key pillar of our future growth strategy,” he says.

“Having a survival expert at the helm might help Game navigate this challenging course and tread a new path for growth”

Lister is unafraid to try new things which should help Game as it treads new ground in the gaming event and tournament markets.

Lister helped spearhead New Look’s move into TV when he was in charge of marketing at the retailer, by sponsoring the Channel 4 series New Look: Style the Nation.

The show searched for fashion-conscious individuals who competed to win their dream job as a New Look stylist, and was one of the UK’s first experiments with product placement.

Game’s attempt to diversify its business will require a new approach to everything from marketing to stores so Lister’s innovative thinking will be a valuable asset.

Survivor’s instinct

Lister seems universally liked by all that cross his path. One former New Look colleague described him as “open, gregarious and a really great guy” and Martins says he is “likeable, social and very supportive of his teams”.

Unlike his gamer customers, Lister is more likely to be found exploring the great outdoors than challenging a teenager in the Philippines to a game of virtual combat.

He is a keen adventurer who loves scaling mountains and sleeping under the stars.

Having a survival expert at the helm might help Game navigate a challenging course and tread a new path for growth.