CFO GameStop has been forced while the activist investor promotes a new strategy

Tuesday’s CFO release is an element of GameStop’s broader cleanup effort, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Cohen, co-founder of online pet food retailer Chewy Inc.,

in November last year it unveiled a nearly 10% stake in GameStop through its investment firm RC Ventures LLC. At the time, Mr. Cohen sent a letter to GameStop’s board asking him to conduct a strategic business review and reduce his reliance on physical retail, focusing instead on e-commerce.

Although the company’s market value has risen temporarily this year, and its stock has made substantial gains on Wednesday, the retailer’s business has not changed as dramatically. Revenues have declined in the chain of about 5,000 stores over the past few years. They face the same fundamental challenge as booksellers and retailers: a shift from physical copies to digital downloads. The company also faced increasing competition from Walmart Inc.

and Amazon.com Inc.

and experienced a high executive rotation.

Since then, Mr. Cohen has made several changes to the video game retailer.

In January, GameStop said it had reached an agreement for Mr. Cohen, former Chewy chief operating officer Alan Attal, and former Chewy chief financial officer Jim Grube to join its board of directors. RC Ventures agreed to increase its stake to a maximum of 19.9% ​​for several months.

GameStop has also made some key appointments to review the business. The company announced earlier this month that it had hired Matt Francis, a former Amazon.com Inc. executive, who took over the new role created by the chief technology officer on February 15th. He also recruited Josh Krueger – who previously worked at Amazon and Walmart. “As vice president of accomplishment.” Kelli Durkin, who served as vice president of customer service at Chewy, is the new senior vice president of customer support at GameStop.

Mr Cohen said he plans to modernize the company, focusing more on e-commerce and technology-based opportunities such as e-sports and mobile games, according to a document released to the Securities and Exchange Commission in November. He also wants GameStop to end leases at low-performing stores and close non-essential operations in Europe and Australia to pay for technological improvements. The company currently operates in 10 countries.

A possible change at GameStop is not yet on something that bets on Wall Street. The company, especially Mr. Cohen, needs to develop a growth strategy and use it to re-engage institutional investors, many of whom have shortened their stock, said Michael Pachter, a research analyst at financial services firm Wedbush Securities Inc. This is a real challenge, “said Pachter. “But if Ryan Cohen starts to show that I’m a growth story, then the institutions will come back, the stock will work and everyone will make money.”

Industry analysts see many profitable profit options for GameStop, including capitalizing on its brand recognition and coverage in the gaming community.

GameStop should focus on its community and encourage people to enter its stores, said Ray Wang, an analyst at consulting firm Constellation Research Inc. from where they went to other social networking sites, “said Mr. Wang.

GameStop has said it is looking for a new chief financial officer and plans to appoint chief accounting officer Diana Jajeh as interim chief financial officer if it does not find a replacement when Mr Bell leaves. The company is looking for a financial director with experience in e-commerce or technology, who could develop strategies in areas such as capital allocation and financing, said people familiar with the matter.

—Miriam Gottfried, John McCormick, Angus Loten and Sarah Needleman contributed to this article.

Write to Nina Trentmann at [email protected] and Mark Maurer at [email protected]