Micromania sold to Franco-Quebecois consortium betting on collectibles
What's the deal? GameStopDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has sold French video game retailer MicromaniaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to a Franco-Quebecois consortium led by Canadian entrepreneur Stephan Tétrault. The chain, founded in 1983, runs more than 300 stores in France and counts over 6 million customers. GameStop announced the deal on July 16, 2026.
Why now? GameStop put Micromania up for sale in February 2025, and a buyer emerged a year and a half later. The move comes as physical video game sales collapse in favour of downloads — Sony has said it will end disc-based games by 2028.
Who's buying? Tétrault, active in toys and collectibles for over 25 years, is majority shareholder of Canadian games chain EB GamesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. He is joined by financier Jean-François Chenail, also an EB Games shareholder, and minority partners Sandra and Stephen Callahan, owners of Gipsy Toys, France's second-largest plush maker and a manufacturer of the Phryges mascots for the Paris 2024 Games.
What's the endgame? The consortium wants to replicate what Tétrault did with EB Games Canada, which his group bought in May 2025. There, the retailer pushed collectible cards such as Pokémon and Magic, invested in merchandise, ran in-store events, and sold ad space to brands.
According to figures from the group, EB Games' merchandise and card sales jumped 74.69% versus the pre-acquisition period, and 97% of stores returned to profit in 2025, up from 77% a year earlier. Those numbers come from the buyers themselves.
What changes for customers? Micromania stores will look different. The group plans a larger "Flagship" store near Paris in October 2026, designed as an events venue, plus collectible card vending machines in around 30 shopping centres. Tétrault says he will not alter the brand's identity, returning to "des passionnés au service des passionnés."
What could go wrong? The consortium plans to review the entire store network to assess location quality, pointing to likely closures, relocations, and layoffs. Micromania also carries reputational baggage: in 2021 it was convicted for misleading commercial practices.
The signal: Specialist retailers are all hunting for growth as boxed games fade. Collectible cards, riding the Pokémon boom, and figurines offer far fatter margins than a game in a box — and Micromania, which already began diversifying with Zing, is now following the same playbook as its former Canadian sibling.
Read more: Frandroid · Image credit: Random Retail
