Canadian franchisee Justin White opened his second store in British Columbia in July with plans for a third to be up and running by 2011. White projects to have six-to-eight stores open within the next three years. "The best thing about Play N Trade is being able to run a store myself," said White. "Customers can see that we are not just another huge corporate entity like our competitors."
Play N Trade has set itself apart from competing retail video game stores by offering a "try-before-you-buy" policy that allows gamers to play any game in-store prior to purchase and a "player's club" consisting of numerous consoles and flat-screen TVs that can host in-store tournaments and events.
Play N Trade foresees the success to continue with an expansive slate of proven titles set to release this year, such as Halo: Reach, Madden NFL 11, Call of Duty: Black Ops and the 3-D motion-sensing peripherals of Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's PlayStation Move. The company also offers a repair service for consoles and games, as well as trading of games. It will even buy games from customers.
A Play N Trade franchise requires a $30,000 franchise fee, and there is a 5 per cent royalty and a 2 per cent advertising fee, both based on gross sales. Total investment for a turnkey outlet is in the range of $200,000 to $325,000.
from Western Investor, January 2011
