GameStop Chief Operating Officer Nir Patel left the company on Thursday, the gaming retailer said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He won’t be replaced, and other company executives will take up his responsibilities, according to the filing.
Patel arrived nearly two years ago from Belk, where he was CEO for less than a year; he was also previously a senior merchandising executive at Kohl’s. At that time, GameStop said he would have a base salary of $200,000 and be eligible for $3.4 million in sign-on bonuses, along with a $14 million equity grant and a $21 million stock grant for forgoing equity awards and compensation from Belk.
In this week’s filing, the GameStop said he will get a lump sum payment in the gross amount of $102,646.68, less certain deductions and withholdings from wages. This includes 10 weeks of base salary; health insurance coverage for two months; 30% of the remaining unearned portion of his sign-on bonus; and a portion of his equity awards.
Patel’s departure comes days after the company reported an undisclosed number of layoffs and double-digit net sales declines in the fourth quarter and for the full year. Analysts have grown increasingly skeptical that the retailer can turn itself around. In December, analysts at global research firm Third Bridge estimated that GameStop has twice as many stores than what it needs, even after hundreds of closures in recent years.
GameStop has a healthy cash balance, but it could be facing annual revenue declines of $150 million to $200 million, “given its lack of clear strategy to replace lost games sales,” Wedbush analysts led by Michael Pachter said in a research note last month.
The retailer “may have trouble trimming costs fast enough to stem the growth of its losses,” Pachter also said. “If we’re right, GameStop has a likely runway of no more than five years.”