GameStop, a nationwide video game retailer, told workers that it considers the chain to be an “essential” business that can remain open amid restrictions imposed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, multiple outlets reported Thursday.
Employees of the Texas-based company received a memo Thursday afternoon explaining its reasoning for keeping its stores open to shoppers, video game website Kotaku first reported.
“Due to the products we carry that enable and enhance our customers’ experience in working from home, we believe GameStop is classified as essential retail and therefore is able to remain open during this time,” GameStop stated in the memo, the report said.
“We have received reports of local authorities visiting stores in an attempt to enforce closure despite our classification. Store Managers are approved to provide the document linked below to law enforcement as needed,” the memo continued, according to multiple reports.
Other media outlets that have seen the memo — including Vice and Polygon — reported that the document referenced by the retailer asks police to call the company’s headquarters.
“Thank you for what you are doing to keep us all safe,” the document said, both outlets reported. “If you have questions about our store’s hours, operations or policies could I ask you to please call our corporate office.”
GameStop did not immediately return an email inquiring about the memo, and a phone call made to the number mentioned in Vice’s report was not answered by an actual person.
“Thank you for calling the GameStop COVID-19 law enforcement and government support line,” a person said in a recorded message heard upon calling the number. “Please leave your name, phone number and a brief summary for the reason for your call and someone will call you back briefly.”
GameStop subsequently issued a statement later Thursday announcing measures the retailer has taken while keeping its doors open. They include limiting the number of customers allowed in each store to 10 or fewer, creating a 6-foot parameter between customers in checkout lines, reducing store hours and postponing previously scheduled events, among others.
Formerly known as Babbage’s, GameStop operates more than 5,600 stores across 14 countries, according to the company.
City and state officials across the U.S. have announced emergency measures in recent days meant to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the infectious and potentially deadly respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Most recently, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordering the state’s nearly 40 million residents to stay at their homes effective Thursday.
The shelter-in-place order issued by Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, provides exemptions for Californians conducting essential activities, business and government functions. The state has defined essential businesses as including health care facilities, food stores, pharmacies, gas stations, banks, hardware stores and laundromats, among others. It does not explicitly mention video game retailers.
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