Submission + - HMV teeters on the brink of collapse
Retron writes: The UK's largest High Street retailer of CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays has called in administrators for the second time in six years. The sector as a whole is struggling thanks to the rise of streaming services from the likes of Netflix, with customers increasingly shunning physical media in favour of lower-quality (but more convenient) subscription streaming services.
HMV made losses last year of £7.5m on sales of £278m. Business rates alone (the tax for being on the High Street) accounted for £15m of costs. This is despite HMV selling roughly a quarter of all physical DVDs and Blu-rays in the UK last year, as well as around a third of all physical music recordings. Indeed, the Telegraph reports HMV overtook Amazon in terms of sales of physical DVDs this year in the UK, as Amazon has focused more on its streaming services.
However, demand is expected to decline by 17% next year, heaping further woes on a company struggling to adapt to modern trends. With a bleak future ahead for physical media sales, it remains to be seen whether HMV — which has been around since 1921 — can survive to see its one hundredth anniversary.
Sources: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/bu... (Paywalled), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/bus...
HMV made losses last year of £7.5m on sales of £278m. Business rates alone (the tax for being on the High Street) accounted for £15m of costs. This is despite HMV selling roughly a quarter of all physical DVDs and Blu-rays in the UK last year, as well as around a third of all physical music recordings. Indeed, the Telegraph reports HMV overtook Amazon in terms of sales of physical DVDs this year in the UK, as Amazon has focused more on its streaming services.
However, demand is expected to decline by 17% next year, heaping further woes on a company struggling to adapt to modern trends. With a bleak future ahead for physical media sales, it remains to be seen whether HMV — which has been around since 1921 — can survive to see its one hundredth anniversary.
Sources: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/bu... (Paywalled), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/bus...
