HMV in administration AGAIN

Thrugelmir

Malthusian wrote: »

Throughout my music buying life I could only find what I wanted on Amazon.

Amazon do provide portals for other sellers. Much as Ebay do. Amazon charge a very high % on third party sales. To make it work the seller still requires a high sales volume. My local independent record shop will order anything in and match the Amazon the selling price. My favourite independent is Drift Records in Totness.

stator

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

Those firms took advantage of Jersey tax loopholes.
Those loopholes have been closed for a few years now..

Amazon used the same loophole. They subcontracted their orders for stuff like DVDs to Indigo Starfish based in the channel islands.
So I don't think that's relevant

kabayiri

It's clear that the online market was going to evolve like any other market.

In the early days, you get a lot of players, some with a clearer plan than others.

As it matures, some of the smaller players are shaken out and there is no doubt that Amazon plans to be one of a small number of super dominant providers.

When you control the market, you control the prices.

[Deleted User]

stator wrote: »

So I don't think that's relevant

It's "relevant" in the sense that those heavily discounted prices (due to a tax loophole) won't now be repeated. My post was in response to someone who lamented those discounts from other retailers who are now defunct or bought out.

stator

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

It's "relevant" in the sense that those heavily discounted prices (due to a tax loophole) won't now be repeated. My post was in response to someone who lamented those discounts from other retailers who are now defunct or bought out.

I know, it was me, but the fact they were dodging VAT isn't relevant to the fact that they were cheaper than Amazon, because Amazon was dodging VAT too.
When I'm shopping for something, Amazon is almost never the cheapest place. Probably due to their very high seller fees

antrobus

I don't believe that Amazon is the reason for HMV's woes.

Amazon started as a bookseller, but yet bricks and mortar book shops are the one retail sector that is growing. Physical book sales are growing, Waterstones is profitable.

The problem that HMV has, is that CD and DVD sales are falling. I think that's because of streaming. People can choose to listen to music on the likes of Spotify. Or even Youtube. Almost every song that has ever existed is on Youtube. And there is just so much video available on the likes of Netflix, catchup TV services, etc that you don't need to buy a DVD anymore.

I suppose it's ironical that a 500+ year old entertainment technology is at least surviving, whilst a 30 year old one is going downhill. In the same way as vinyl is growing years after its death was predicted.

Bring back the 7inch and proper charts.:)

phillw

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Read a Wetherspoons annual report one day if you want a bit of enlightening, they pay over 50% of turnover to the government in various taxes, before they pay the corporation tax on the roughly 5% of turnover left over as 'profit'.

I'd rather not, I wouldn't trust the word of anything involved with Tim Martin.

More importantly though alcohol is taxed differently to products sold by hmv/amazon/etc.

hmv tried to diversify, but they never found a product that people would buy from them with enough margin, rather than buying online.

The future of the high street is likely to be clothes & cosmetics because the products lend themselves to a social environment.

antrobus

Sales of CDs plummeted by 23% last year, as consumers flocked to streaming services for their music.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-46735093

spadoosh

csgohan4 wrote: »

Like Toys R us they didn't change with the times and focussed on bricks and mortar heavily and joined the online bandwagon too late.

I shop at amazon because it's cheaper than most and you can track prices to alert you when under a certain level, camelcamel

Consumers are not a charity for shops, if everyone sells X but Amazon offers it for less, I would gladly pay less

Neither are businesses but youre happy to browse stores yet buy online for being cheaper. You mentioned the government being short sighted. Where are you going to browse when the stores you frequent have closed as unable to compete with the businesses that dont allow you to browse?

I got this all the time working at B&Q, spend 30 minutes with someone guiding them through their problems to finsih off with them saying theyll buy it online cheaper. Thats great and everything for the consumer right up until you need the advice you wherent willing to pay for.

I agree businesses havent adapted. But then i can understand the complacency. Everyone says the high street is dying, yet turnover has never been higher, most of the large retailers (a lot will be online like) post profits every year, all be it, smaller profits than in previous years but profits none the less. Its just complacency. Dont spend too much, dont lose too much dont risk too much.

I think the direction our high streets are (Read should be) heading is as social hubs. The cafes, restaurants and bars are already there. Just need something the retailers can latch on to to draw punters in, just selling products isnt good enough anymore. Amazon (online) will always do it cheaper. What you need to offer is something better. So things like the advice and help but also social engagement. Why dont we see fashion shows at the like of M&S and Debenhams? Why dont we have huge play centres in the like of toys r us? Why isnt there gaming groups attached to the like of currys and pc world? Why doesnt HMV hold small gigs for local artists? Its those thigns that draw customers in, once customers are in the doors they do spend. Youll never get them in the door if the incentive is spending 20% more than you would online.

Niv

The thing I find with bricks and mortar is that you can browse for things that you ‘don’t know what you are looking for’. Online is great if you know what you want but if you are looking for something different but don’t know what that is, online is horrible (or maybe I just do not have the patience / ‘am doing it wrong’). What I like in HMV for example is that they sell some odd/quirky films that I did not know existed and therefore would not have found online as I ‘wasn’t looking for them’. It will be a shame to lose HMV for that element.


On the flip side, for your run of the mill / current films etc (i.e the main sellers I presume), I tend not to buy physical media anymore as I have had enough of the clutter around the house.