Rhino Video Games

Rhino Video Games
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Electronics Stores
Founded	1989; 35 years ago
Founder	Mike Vorce; Bruce Ruckle
Defunct	January 14, 2007; 17 years ago
Fate	Merged into GameStop
Headquarters	Gainesville, FL (USA)
Key people	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), Kevin Campbell (District Manager), David Bauman (Lead Advertising and Designer), James McDuffie (Product Returns Director)
Products	Current and Classic Video Games, Accessories and Systems
Parent	GameStop
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 in 2007. 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 to 2007, Rhino Video Games allowed customers to trade in their unwanted video games and systems toward other video game merchandise.

History

Origins

The first Rhino store was opened in 1989 in Ocala, Florida. Mike Vorce (founder and President), with the help of Bruce Ruckle, created 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, which would become a flagship store and eventually 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.

Sale to GameStop

On January 4, 2007, Rhino Video Games was acquired by GameStop and all stores were renamed by January 14th.^[1]

References

^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (2004-07-26). "MEDIA; Showdown Begins in Movie-Rental Business; Blockbuster Tries a Remake (Published 2004)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-23.

External links

Rhino Video Games at the Internet Archive

[1] Fabrikant, Geraldine (2004-07-26). "MEDIA; Showdown Begins in Movie-Rental Business; Blockbuster Tries a Remake (Published 2004)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-23.

[1]