HMV stores facing closure.

[Downy]

On the wall of HMV's flagship store opposite Bond Street Tube station in London, a prominent display sets out the history of recorded sound.

Old vinyl records and other ageing music formats are preserved behind glass, as part of a timeline charting the development of music retailing and HMV's role in it.

Few customers seem interested in stopping to read about the chain's very first shop, which was opened just across the road in July 1921 by Sir Edward Elgar and closed in April 2000.

But fears are growing that some of HMV's 421 existing outlets - 235 of them in the UK - could follow that landmark store into oblivion, as the traditional record shop becomes as much of a relic as the dusty old 78.

Alarmed at falling sales of CDs, the firm has announced a three-year "transformation plan" that could see it disappear from many of Britain's High Streets and withdraw from overseas territories.

HMV's chief executive Simon Fox says he is confident that the proposals will allow the group, which also includes Waterstone's bookshops, to overcome "challenging" market conditions.

But if he fails, the company that once proudly proclaimed itself to be "top dog for music, DVD and games" may well have had its day.

Digital dilemma

HMV, along with its main UK rival Virgin, is under attack on a number of fronts.

Much of the media coverage of record retailers' woes has centred on tech-savvy teenagers downloading copies of their favourite tunes rather than buying physical CDs instead.



CDs remain popular despite the growth of downloads
Both HMV and Virgin have risen to this challenge with their own digital download services, although they are subject to the same digital rights management (DRM) restrictions on usage that were recently criticised by Apple's Steve Jobs.

But figures from the British Phonographic Industry indicate that such digital formats still account for no more than a tiny proportion of all music sold in the UK.

Just 3% of music sales by value come in the form of downloads, while a whopping 87% are on CD.

Vinyl, by the way, is lumped in with "other formats" including the trusty old cassette, which amount to about 5%, while music DVDs make up the remainder.

Pile 'em high

The widespread availability of music illegally on the internet has undoubtedly had an impact on sales. Total music revenues fell between 3% and 4% globally in 2006, according to estimates by the International Federation of Phonographic Industries.

Even so, when people do decide to acquire music honestly, they are clearly still buying CDs. The problem is that they are spurning stores such as HMV and choosing to find them elsewhere.

Specialist music retailers now handle just 44% of CD sales in the UK.



HMV is well aware of the need to respond urgently to market changes
And while downloads are not yet taking over, online retailers such as Amazon have definitely eaten into HMV's market.

Sales of CDs over the internet now amount to 11% of the country's music purchases - although, of course, HMV is in that sector as well, with its own website offering music delivered to your door.

What is really hitting the music specialists is the growth of the supermarket as CD retailer. Stores such as Tesco and Sainsbury's, with their policy of stocking a small selection at a hefty discount, have collared a 26% share of sales.

Obviously your local supermarket cannot boast the range of HMV's other Oxford Street flagship store, close to Oxford Circus, which has 150,000 different music titles in its racks.

But as any frequent browser will know, HMV has been forced to lower its prices on newly-released CDs in order to compete with Tesco, further shrinking its profit margins.

Loyalty card

HMV bosses describe their turnaround plan as "exciting, radical and far-reaching".

Some of the ideas, such as introducing a loyalty card, sound like an attempt to tackle the supermarkets on their own terrain.

But HMV has already been beaten to the punch by Virgin, whose "Virgin Addict" card scheme allows customers to claim a £10 voucher after they have made 10 purchases worth at least £9.99 each.

For their part, retail-watchers are far from convinced that the plan will save the firm's iconic Nipper dog brand from being put to sleep.

"We remain very sceptical about the group's future prospects," said Numis Securities analysts, "as we do not see how these initiatives will save HMV from the structural problems it faces."



Looks like HMV are in the sh*t then.

[tasker]

Charging £28 for Lost In Space on Blu Ray im not suprised they are the only place on the high street selling what they do now, no more Zavvi or Woolies or Virgin so what do they do?

Charge stupidly high prices and diversify into owning clubs and stuff, lower your prices and you might survive.

[Downy]

Charging £28 for Lost In Space on Blu Ray im not suprised they are the only place on the high street selling what they do now, no more Zavvi or Woolies or Virgin so what do they do?

Charge stupidly high prices and diversify into owning clubs and stuff, lower your prices and you might survive.

True and they should do away with there Orange mobile phone areas in store because Orange are Sh*t and they are theives too but we wont go into that .
One thing I wil say though is I had the Family guy boxset seasons 1-9 out of there yesterday for £59,what a bargain!!

[Father Jack]

That is a bargain, its £30 new.












Nah, its actually £110 or something of equal astronomical price

[Spooky_Von_Glitter]

Yeah i got the Frasier boxset for £49, RRP £150, and my name is earl for £39... snapped those bad boys up before xmas.

[tallfruit]

hmv do'nt help themselves, a lot of the items you can buy in the stores are cheaper on their own website and they do free delivery

stu

[Downy]

That is a bargain, its £30 new.
Nah, its actually £110 or something of equal astronomical price

£30 is for season 9 on it's own and I think the original price of the boxset is £150.
Im very happy with the boxset anyway.

[crad]

HMV Greedy tw@ts always been a rip off for anything music, games consoles etc imo, Never bought anything from them,The staff are all a bunch of ignorant Tossers .
If they fell in-line with the likes of internet sites such as play.com etc and supermarkets they would survive .
A cd in Hmv cost say £12.99
The same cd online or in a supermarket cost £8.99 !!!! wtf i know where i'd go 1st !

[hywelkidd]

I remember seeing a copy of the first drowning pool album priced at £16 in HMV about five or six years after it came out once. Went in yesterday afternoon and saw that they were trying to sell Sonic Boom at £16 and all of The Beatles albums at £15 each (they were all between £9 and £12 a couple of months earlier). I also saw F1 2010 in there for £45 yesterday (I payed £38 for it from Game in Evesham, who have a tendency to rip you off anyway, the day it came out in September). They really don't help themselves at all do they.

[highvoltage1969]

I find it all rather depressing to be honest; the last high street music retailer on it's knees.

It's not that I'm resistant to change as such, I just hate the way music has been devalued, trivialised and stolen to such an extent that there's not the demand for even one high street store.

[Pete]

hmv do'nt help themselves, a lot of the items you can buy in the stores are cheaper on their own website and they do free delivery

stu

This. ^^^^


I love browsing in HMV however if I want to actually buy something I'll usually order it online either at HMV.com or Play com. The only time I'll buy from an HMV store is if they anything decent in the 3 for £10 section (completed the AC/DC back catalogue this way). It's shame the record shop is vanishing from the high street though...

[Dan bach]

It's a pity that this chain is closing - my seldom London visits always included a HMV and Virgin visits along Oxford Street - from family holidays or when I attended gigs at the olde Marque on Wardour Street - as well as Shades (Mecca Metal heaven).

I agree with what people have said - HMV don't help themselves - selling stuff cheaper online.

The closest HMV for me is/was Swansea/Cardiff or Wolverhampton.

Thankfully I still have an independant record store, to which I reguarly visit and let my fingers do the travelling along the vinyl and cd shelves.

I know i'm in the older generation bracket of this forum .... but I still love to rummage through the shelves to see what I can find.

HMV physical stores RIP , Amen for HMV online .

[Father Jack]

I like the way they'll have an item for sale at say £5.00 and the very same item in front of it for its original asking price of £15.00
Classic stuff.

[Roger H]

It's a pity that this chain is closing - my seldom London visits always included a HMV and Virgin visits along Oxford Street - from family holidays or when I attended gigs at the olde Marque on Wardour Street - as well as Shades (Mecca Metal heaven).

Bring back any memories, Dan ??

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_8iHmvWW_c[/youtube]

[RippingFleshFromBone]

I find it interesting that on another thread (G$ download rant if I recall) forumees were defending the rights of the record companies, retailers et al in that they have to pay for everything out of the revenue from sales and on this thread everyone seems to be slaggin off HMV for being a 'rip off' store!!! Hmm.

Yes, often their pricing structure seems a little wierd what with the same cd at different prices in the same rack and some of the stuff is expensive, but most the product is reasonably priced IMO. And if the cd is priced a bit steep I just go to HMV.com or ebay and get it cheaper.

I think it'll be a shame if HMV does end up becoming an online only seller cos I like walking into a store and picking up what I want and leaving with it (after paying of course!)