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Post by raliverpool on Dec 9, 2010 20:39:01 GMT 1
9 December 2010 Last updated at 17:23 BBC News HMV shares fall sharply as losses widen[/size] Shares in HMV Group have slumped almost 17% after it reported falling sales and deepening losses. The music, video, games and book retailer made a pre-tax loss of £41.3m in the six months to 23 October, compared with a £24.9m loss last year. Like-for-like sales - which pulls out the impact of new store openings - at its main HMV UK business fell 16.1%. During the six months the company said it had worked hard to diversify the range of products available at its HMV stores, adding clothing lines and the sale of Apple's iPad tablet computer. This came as the business saw a 10% fall in the sale of CDs, and an 8% decline in DVD sales. Sales of computer games dropped even further, losing 12%. Sales at its book chain Waterstone's were down 3.2%. HMV Group said Christmas sales would now be key. Full story here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11956003Do you still use HMV as much as you used to? What do you think about it diversifying away from selling music - A good or bad move? Do you think it will still be on the high street to celebrate its centenary in 2020?
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Post by Admin on Dec 9, 2010 20:49:37 GMT 1
I use it online to buy albums, as we dont have one in our town, if we did I'd buy stuff in the sales as and when I wanted it. I'm not surprised because less people are buying albums, I do think they should be sold at £5 though.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2010 21:01:46 GMT 1
This is worrying news, HMV is the only music store we have on the high street, if that goes...that's it!!
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Post by wonderwall on Dec 9, 2010 22:06:13 GMT 1
Hmv is a bit hit and miss for me some good deals but then you get some stuff that is so overpriced its unbelievable
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Post by raliverpool on Dec 9, 2010 22:41:49 GMT 1
I always try to support HMV above supermarkets for buying CDs (as I prefer a physical copy to download to my laptop iTunes library and iPod); but for me diversifying into books, clothes and computer games is a mistake as it is falling between stools and is just getting squeezed by the supermarkets at one end and the likes of Amazon & Play.com at the other end.
FFS hoodie tops are now in the corner of my local store (on the 2nd floor) where vinyl used to be sold.
I really do fear that HMV will go the way of Our Price; Virgin & Woolworths within the next 10 years.
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Post by Jordan on Dec 11, 2010 16:54:00 GMT 1
I've used HMV more this year than ever before.
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Post by Chris on Dec 11, 2010 17:24:11 GMT 1
Haven't bought anything from HMV in years. Supermarkets and Amazon or Play.Com are cheaper. I'd only use them if they had something that I couldn't get anywhere else.
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Post by Jordan on Dec 11, 2010 17:26:09 GMT 1
The only super market I go to is Tesco and CD's are MUCH more expensive there than anywhere else I've seen. HMV is the cheapest option here now that Woolworths has gone.
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madmurray
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I Am A Lizard King
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Post by madmurray on Dec 11, 2010 17:37:59 GMT 1
i tend to use them online more often, but our local one is quite expensive, especially when you get the same thing cheaper at play or amazon.
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Post by Chris on Dec 13, 2010 23:41:11 GMT 1
The only super market I go to is Tesco and CD's are MUCH more expensive there than anywhere else I've seen. HMV is the cheapest option here now that Woolworths has gone. Hmm, seems to be the opposite down here as Tesco and Asda supermarkets are far cheaper than HMV and sometimes cheaper than Amazon, Play etc.
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Post by Mart!n on Dec 13, 2010 23:50:30 GMT 1
If that goes that would be another blow, mind you most of my music and DVDs I buy from Play or CDwow, as they are a lot cheaper.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Dec 14, 2010 0:24:24 GMT 1
The HMV website doesn't seem to be any better as most things are priced the same as the shops. Shame there aren't any decent special offers as before.
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Post by Maximo Mark on Jan 5, 2011 18:55:34 GMT 1
HMV announced today that it will close 60 of its shops in the UK over the next 12 months for various reasons. In connection with this the following article appears relevant:
"The cost of illegal downloading to the industry is again underlined by new OCC figures that show the physical and digital album market slumped 7% in volume last year.
Despite a big uptake in digital albums – they represented almost one fifth of the album sector in 2010 – the market for CD albums dropped 12.4% to 98.5m and dragged the whole sector from 128.9m in 2009 to 119.9m in 2010.
BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor believes the market has now turned a corner, with 2010 going down as the year that digital albums finally went mainstream selling some 21.0m.
But, Taylor also pounces on the data as further evidence of the damage illegal filesharers are doing. Taylor says, “Despite unprecedented demand for music, and strong innovation offering consumers new ways to access music online, legal downloads are unable to offset the decline in CD sales because they are dwarfed by illegal competition.”
His words were echoed by BPI chairman Tony Wadsworth, who says it is now crucial that action to stem illegal downloading is taken.
However, the pair have much more to cheer about in the singles sector: digital downloads have powered singles to their third successive record high with 161.8m sold in 2010, compared to 152.7m the previous year – a 5.9% jump.
5.2m of these tracks came in the final week of last year, which is another record because that is the first time weekly sales have surpassed the 5m mark.
Taylor adds, “2010 showed that the digital singles highs seen in the previous two years were no fluke – music fans continue to embrace the convenience, value and choice offered by legal download stores.”
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It's a massive shame, a lot of people say they don't shop there any more because of their prices and they're too expensive. It's not their prices, it's the prices elsewhere. Supermarkets can sell cheaper because they make more money elsewhere, and online retailers can sell cheaper because they've less overheads as they just have a massive warehouse. Downloads are cheaper because there's no physical or distribution costs. I remember in the 90s when I first started buying CDs that if I got one for £10 that was a good price. I got the NOW albums from about #36 onwards, they always used to cost at least £14. £10 in the late 90s is probably equivelant to about £15 in today's money, yet people now complain when CDs are sold for as much as £10. If the price of albums has fallen in nominal terms, let alone real terms, dowloading has completely wiped out the physical single (apart from a few rare cases), DVDs have become cheaper, and anything HMV sell you can find in a supermarket. Is it any wonder that HMV can't cope in the current day? It's nothing to do with their prices. Simple business logic would state that HMV is not something that can be sustained at all.
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Post by Jordan on Jan 5, 2011 19:00:47 GMT 1
I can only hope they don't close the one here It's a shame though.
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madmurray
Member
I Am A Lizard King
Posts: 16,846
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Post by madmurray on Jan 5, 2011 19:09:42 GMT 1
I wouldnt be surprised if they closed our one, although it is the only Music shop in our town.
I still feel the shop is a lot dearer. I got an album on line at HMV and it was a pound cheaper than the shop.
I blame the supermarkets.
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Post by Chris on Jan 5, 2011 19:12:40 GMT 1
Why blame the supermarkets? HMV should reduce their prices. Simple as that.
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Post by Earl Purple on Jan 5, 2011 19:12:44 GMT 1
They are talking nonsense, illegal downloading is not affecting physical sales, in my opinion, the alternative for most would be legal downloading. HMV do have a legal download site of their own, although obviously they are a poor player in the field compared to a certain big other one, and their bitrates are lower, their selection is smaller and their prices aren't any cheaper.
As a high-street store there is obvoiusly going to be a lower demand for buying recorded music, perhaps they should sell other things instead. Times change and they clearly haven't moved with it adequately enough.
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Post by Maximo Mark on Jan 5, 2011 19:18:36 GMT 1
Why blame the supermarkets? HMV should reduce their prices. Simple as that. You clearly fail to understand basic business sense. Supermarkets can sell albums and entertainment cheaper because they make money elsewhere, so it doesn't matter if their profits in certain areas are smaller. HMV make their music in entertainment, so if they reduce the price of it to compete with supermarkets where are they going to make any money from? They aren't! As I said, albums now cost (in real terms) around 50% less than they did 10 years ago, is HMVs rent 50% cheaper? Their wages? Their overheads? Don't be stupid!!
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Post by pilsleyguy on Jan 5, 2011 19:19:18 GMT 1
I got my first ever record at HMV but I do most of my music / DVD shopping online these days.
HMV were just too slow to latch onto online sales and they are always much more expensive.
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Post by wonderwall on Jan 5, 2011 19:23:54 GMT 1
I will be gutted if they close the one near us supermarkets are ok for new releases but what about older albums ?
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