Rhino Video Games
| Type | Subsidiary Company of Blockbuster Inc. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics Stores |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Gainesville, FL (USA) |
| Key people | Mike Vorce (Founder), Kelly Sharp (Senior Vice President), Tully McQueen (Vice President of Operations), Karen Danner (General Manager), Joel Resnik (Director of Product), Jeff Brockmeier (Director of Operations), Brian Amador (IT Systems Director), Justin Lohmann (IT Hardware & Network Director), Eric Oria (Marketing Director), Jamie Gordon (Purchasing Manager), James Wigginton (Information Coordinator), Andy Harper (Loss Prevention Director) |
| Products | Current and Classic Video Games, Accessories and Systems |
| Website | Formerly http://www.rhinovideogames.com (Now redirects to GameStop) |
Rhino Video Games was a video game retailer headquartered in Gainesville, Florida before being sold to GameStop. Rhino operated more than 90 games stores that carried classic games as well as newer products in fifteen states throughout the U.S. From 1989-2007, Rhino Video Games allowed customers to trade in their unwanted video games and systems toward other video game merchandise.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Origins
The first Rhino Video Games store was opened by Michael Vorce (Founder / President), with the help of Bruce Ruckle, in Ocala, FL, in 1989. Vorce’s vision included a specialty video game store focused on buying, selling, trading, and renting video game software, systems, and accessories. By 1992, a second location was opened in Gainesville, FL, which would become a flagship store and lead Gainesville to become the site for the company’s corporate headquarters and distribution center. Vorce recruited Kelly Sharp (Senior Vice President) that year and together they oversaw all aspects of the company’s growth, including operations, finance, HR, marketing, supply chain management, real estate, etc.
By 1996, Vorce and Sharp had expanded Rhino to five locations in Florida and enlisted Tully McQueen (Vice President of Operations) to assist in overseeing day to day store operations as they prepared for further expansion. This established the executive management trio that would continue to lead Rhino through future expansion, success, and acquisition by Blockbuster, Inc. In 1997, Rhino opened its first location outside of Florida, in Brunswick, GA. By 2004, Rhino Video Games had approximately 40 locations across six states in the southeast, employing over 300 people at its stores, corporate office, and distribution center, and attracted the interest of several potential buyers, including Gamestop, EB Games, and Blockbuster. An acquisition by Blockbuster was finalized in early 2004. Rhino’s original executive team remained intact until summer 2005 when Vorce, Sharp, and McQueen left the company.
[edit] Acquisition by Blockbuster
On May 19th, 2004, Blockbuster Inc. announced the purchase of Rhino Video Games from American Satellite and Video Inc., in an effort to expand Blockbuster's presence in the video game trading market. Soon after the purchase, Blockbuster began to increase funding to Rhino's development in an effort to rapidly expand. By late 2005, over 100 Rhino Stores in 14 states were in business.
However, this rapid expansion was short-lived. Several factors, including Blockbuster's financial issues at the time soon influenced a small downsizing. Poor planning, rumored to be on the part of Blockbuster's location scouts, resulted in a number of the recently opened stores being located in areas that were either unfavorable to Rhino's target customer group, or that were located in areas where the Southeast-based chain was relatively unheard of.
[edit] Employee incentives
In terms of employee incentives, Rhino provided several methods of rewards its employees for their hard work. Employees were allowed to borrow out games, providing the game was used and had been released for more than 30 days. This was beneficial to both the employee and the store, as it allowed employees to gain knowledge about a wide selection of titles.
Rhino Points were distributed when an employee would go above and beyond normal expectations. From the first voucher they received, an employee could redeem their points for store merchandise. Other redemption items included game systems, movie tickets, food, or even having their District Leader work a paid shift for them. Rhino also held many internal contests each year with prizes ranging from game-related items to brand new gaming system packages.
Product Night was another employee favorite. Once a quarter, each store would host an employee only event where the company would provide food and drinks. The employees would be able to challenge each other to games, as well as try out games that were not yet able to be "borrowed out."
[edit] Sale to GameStop
On January 4, 2007, Rhino Video Games was acquired by GameStop.
[edit] External links
- Rhino Video Games Home Page (now a link to gamestop.com)
