I love HMV and can spend an age in their whenever i'm out shopping, but i can't remember the last thing i actually brought from there (apart from DVDs that were on sale). Music is much cheaper online (amazon etc), but it would be a shame to see the end of the chain.

 

I predict as has been stated that album downloads will shoot up for a while immediately after the closure.

 

I get most of my DVDs from second hand shops, but have yet to find a good place that sells albums at similar cheap prices.

The problem is of course that HMV charge higher prices as they have to to stay in business. I genuinely don't think they are "ripping people off" as is often claimed, they just have far larger overheads than the online retailers that they need to cover.

 

Also, supermarkets can have lower margins on cds as they make their money on other products. Having said that though, I was surprised that in Tesco the top 10 cds are £10, the same as HMV.

 

 

Yeah was going to say that - from last january hmv put alot of their top 40 chart cds up to 10 quid or 2 for 15 after years of new chart cds being as low as 6 quid alone. Maybe this year they just give up selling them so cheap and put them on for what they are worth. And as you say Tesco have followed suit recently!

For my media project, I'm completely rebranding HMV...

 

All your comments You've made today will make EXCELLENT secondary research. Thanks very much :D

 

I'd be sad if HMV closes, I did do a survey on HMV to 52 people... If there's interest I'll post it on here if ya like :)

 

 

Yes please!! :P

I love HMV and can spend an age in their whenever i'm out shopping, but i can't remember the last thing i actually brought from there (apart from DVDs that were on sale). Music is much cheaper online (amazon etc), but it would be a shame to see the end of the chain.

 

I predict as has been stated that album downloads will shoot up for a while immediately after the closure.

 

I get most of my DVDs from second hand shops, but have yet to find a good place that sells albums at similar cheap prices.

 

 

Im not confident about albums downloads shooting up - they rose this year from 15-20% to around 30-34% on average (although that went down during this quater due to xmas) but there hasnt exactly been an explosion. Most people who buy cds/vinyl wont go to download now!

It'll be a real shame if it goes, if only because it's the only last main 'music shop' left. I still shop in HMV regularly, have spent £300 in there since October alone!

 

I remember when I first got into music in 1998-ish, I'd go to town and go into HMV, Virgin Megastores, Our Price, MVC, Borders, Woolworths, WH Smith and others that all sold music and had various different offers/imports or other things. Now it's just one shop left and even that doesn't have music as its main focus anymore, very sad :(

 

This!

 

For my media project, I'm completely rebranding HMV...

 

All your comments You've made today will make EXCELLENT secondary research. Thanks very much :D

 

I'd be sad if HMV closes, I did do a survey on HMV to 52 people... If there's interest I'll post it on here if ya like :)

Sounds good!

What I don't understand with HMV is why their older CDs are so expensive? Usually online any older CD is like £5 max, when you go in HMV and look at their older CDs they are even more expensive that chart CDs. It was a case of ripping people off years ago when there was no other choice but to buy from HMV an older release and have to pay the over-inflated price, but now that you can get older titles online for a few quid HMV haven't moved with the times to be competitive with them.

What I don't understand with HMV is why their older CDs are so expensive? Usually online any older CD is like £5 max, when you go in HMV and look at their older CDs they are even more expensive that chart CDs. It was a case of ripping people off years ago when there was no other choice but to buy from HMV an older release and have to pay the over-inflated price, but now that you can get older titles online for a few quid HMV haven't moved with the times to be competitive with them.

 

I'm guessing its one of the areas where they do make their money though - They devote a lot of space to old CDs and some can literally sit there for years without selling meaning HMV have to sit on stock they have paid for 2-3 years ago before they make any money, Its one of the reasons Tesco etc, don't bother with back catalogue as you might have 1 sale every 6 months for a random title by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Doris Day etc,

 

The only thing i will say is although we don't realise it as we all focus on the published charts on here there are literally 1,000s of sales every week for obscure/old albums which i think will be lost if HMV disappear which in effect will make the music industry change as these consistant but low volume sellers pump money back into the record companies for them to use on new acts.

I'm guessing its one of the areas where they do make their money though - They devote a lot of space to old CDs and some can literally sit there for years without selling meaning HMV have to sit on stock they have paid for 2-3 years ago before they make any money, Its one of the reasons Tesco etc, don't bother with back catalogue as you might have 1 sale every 6 months for a random title by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Doris Day etc,

 

The only thing i will say is although we don't realise it as we all focus on the published charts on here there are literally 1,000s of sales every week for obscure/old albums which i think will be lost if HMV disappear which in effect will make the music industry change as these consistant but low volume sellers pump money back into the record companies for them to use on new acts.

 

I truly believe there is still a market for HMV if they could stock old albums for 3-7 pound and advertise that. I haven't brought Tori Amos latest album Gold Dust yet, so Mum said she would get it me for Xmas, she looked in HMV and it wasn't there so she has ordered it online. HMV have kind of shot themselves in the foot by reducing their old titles range I feel, something they actually had a hold on the market of for as you say older costumers like my Mum.

I truly believe there is still a market for HMV if they could stock old albums for 3-7 pound and advertise that. I haven't brought Tori Amos latest album Gold Dust yet, so Mum said she would get it me for Xmas, she looked in HMV and it wasn't there so she has ordered it online. HMV have kind of shot themselves in the foot by reducing their old titles range I feel, something they actually had a hold on the market of for as you say older costumers like my Mum.

 

You should have sent her to my store we have loads and its part of the '2 For £15' deal :lol: But yes you are right with their push into technology and sale DVDs i do think they have neglected the fact that they are essentially still thought of as a record shop and constantly all day im telling people 'No we don't stock that' when they ask for certain CDs - They do seem to have lost their way with CDs and are not really sure what to do with older titles or indeed what to stock anymore :cry:

I've long said on here that the end of HMV is more a case of 'when' and not 'if' so more unfavourable news comes as no surprise. I'd be more sad if I actually used it anymore, I'm not sure I've even spent a penny in a HMV store this year. The only music I've bought this year that hasn't been digital has been the odd second hand album, and I tend to buy DVDs online, or from Fopp purely because I pop in there more as it's much nearer to by bus stop. When I worked two minutes from HMV I was buying something in there at least one lunchtime a week.

You should have sent her to my store we have loads and its part of the '2 For £15' deal :lol: But yes you are right with their push into technology and sale DVDs i do think they have neglected the fact that they are essentially still thought of as a record shop and constantly all day im telling people 'No we don't stock that' when they ask for certain CDs - They do seem to have lost their way with CDs and are not really sure what to do with older titles or indeed what to stock anymore :cry:

 

The HMV near me in Derby isn't that big. The problem with sale DVDs is the supermarkets do that too. My local Asda has more DVDs for £3 or £5 than they do of more expensive chart DVDs. My local Asda will never stock Tori Amos/Melanie c ect though, so it is a market that isn't covered by the supermarkets and as you say older people tend not to buy online.

You should have sent her to my store we have loads and its part of the '2 For £15' deal :lol: But yes you are right with their push into technology and sale DVDs i do think they have neglected the fact that they are essentially still thought of as a record shop and constantly all day im telling people 'No we don't stock that' when they ask for certain CDs - They do seem to have lost their way with CDs and are not really sure what to do with older titles or indeed what to stock anymore :cry:

Very good point. HMV have indeed diversified into selling technology products but how many people know that? Even their advertising still concentrates largely on music and DVDs. When someone thinks of buying a games console or a tablet, HMV isn't the first name that springs to mind.

Very good point. HMV have indeed diversified into selling technology products but how many people know that? Even their advertising still concentrates largely on music and DVDs. When someone thinks of buying a games console or a tablet, HMV isn't the first name that springs to mind.

Yet their whole new strategy was "impulse buy electronics" which I found the notion of ridiculous. Who has spare £400 quid kicking about to buy an iPad or smart phone on "impulse"! However, I have purchased a phone and tablet for them and their prices are much of a muchness with other shops for these. However they have reduced their CD shelf space (the a-z) as a result in my locals and (oddly) reduced their blue-rays a lot.

 

If you believe their earlier announcements this year it was the electronics which they were actually doing quite well with but I find with both online and the shops they are often poorly stocked vs other retailers which has led to me buying elsewhere and they never seem to know when more will arrive (vs amazon who always estimate and email with updates).

 

Certainly seen some ads for the electronics (e.g. in "stuff" magazine, maybe it's more targeted)

At the moment HMV's sales for Gaming and Technology is increasing compared to it's CD/DVD sales. There is still a very big physical market for gaming, hence why Game/Gamestation was salvaged. With some common sense cuts (Reducing their number of stores by ditching duplicates and loss making stores. Does Edinburgh really need a HMV at either end of Princes Street for example???), maintaining strong headline offers like 2 for £15 on chart CD's and devoting store space to what is more profitable there is a business that can be salvaged here.

 

I personally would put terminals in the store to allow people to search for back catalogue items and then either have them sent to store or directly to their home if the store doesn't have them in stock.

 

I would also rearrange the layout a bit. Make it more fresh and inviting. A bit of light goes a long way, as does eye catching displays. Every impulse purchase helps!

 

 

 

Seeing this store close on the one hand would be absolutely gutting but on the other hand, I would have so much more money. I would seriously be surprised if I spent less than £1k a year in there.

I think they left it WAY too late. There were signs 2/3 years ago things weren't going so well, but the Christmas market usually kept them afloat. A lot of retailers this year are struggling. I think their shift in to sat navs, headphones, tablets etc. was much needed but it is too little too late imo. They should cut down the shops they don't need first. Online retailers clearly have clearly killed them though. Who is going to buy a CD for £15 when you can get it for £8? There's no business logic. If you can't stay competitive with your competition then you need to think of other strategies which have come far too late for HMV. I think the lack of a massive album hasn't helped HMV this year, but it would be poor business logic to think sales of Adele would help your company have sustainable growth.

I see to remember at the time of Woolworths demise that there were two suppliers of physical media, a Woolworths owned company and one within HMV. Since the death of the woolworths one doesn't that mean the HMV supply chain has been supplying all the other retailers (supermarkets & online etc), so won't the death of HMV mean that there'll be no supply chain left to supply anyone else? I hope I'm wrong though.

The are only 3 record shops left in Cheltenham that I know of (not counting supermarkets) : HMV, Rise & one independant shop.

 

What about numbers near other people in this thread?

the end of HMV will definitely mean the end of the physical album.... i don't think Digital albums will ever sell as much as physicals since they are lower quality + they are available everywhere on the net for free, you don't need to buy it to get it....

i don't think the price is the main reason behind HMV sales shrinking, it's downloads: free & paid,

 

albums were as expensive in the 90's yet they were selling by the millions....

 

as an example, i used to buy at least 15 albums per month, while now i only buy 1 or 2 since most of the albums i want to buy i'd already get bored off by the time i get to the music shop...

Edited December 15, 201212 yr by Big Mistake

^^Totally agree - HMV command a huge 38% of the physical albums market, In the store i work at our only competition is Tesco who stock a Top 25 CD chart and that's it, All impulse sales outside of the biggest selling albums will be lost which is why record companies are supporting HMV so heavily.

The are only 3 record shops left in Cheltenham that I know of (not counting supermarkets) : HMV, Rise & one independant shop.

 

What about numbers near other people in this thread?

That's two more than Bournemouth :(