HMV plan to increase instore stock of vinyl

Temaz

Good news, let's hope Ireland gets some good stock.

A spokesman for HMV has said that the high street chain is planning to step up the amount of vinyl it stocks in response to demand from customers.

The chain saw 'disappointing' sales over Christmas, but its official spokesman told NME that they're still hopeful for the future and are planning to bulk up what they offer in vinyl stock. They also said that the stores will never turn their back on stocking physical music.

Asked about what changes HMV would be bringing in 2012, the chain's official spokesman told NME: "A lot of customers have been asking us to increase the amount of racking we dedicate to music instore and we're pleased to say we'll be doing a lot more of that soon - in fact we're also planning to significantly increase our range of vinyl in quite a few locations as well."

http://www.nme.com/news/miscellaneous/61453

GoldenTickets

My guess is this is too little, too late. They've been bungling their sales strategy for a couple of years now, stocking posters, t-shirts and badges (and Mars bars) instead of appealing to their established, physical-format inclined customer base. This return to vinyl will come too late for them I'd say, people have already gotten used to getting their vinyl elsewhere.

If HMV really want to address customer demand, how about this: Don't switch from a 2 for €12 promotion before Christmas to a 2 for €14 promotion (which covers the exact same stock) in the January sales and expect people to keep buying from you.

rcaz

I wonder how this will work out. I figured most serious music fans were going elsewhere to buy music by now. HMV hasn't been a 'proper' music shop for a long time, have they? I thought they were purposefully going after the kind of customer base who probably wouldn't have turntables.

Another thing, I was in there on Friday and I wasn't able to buy an Xbox without getting FIFA with it. I want ****ing Battlefield 3, they're not even ordering it back in. And now they're messing around with vinyl... Get it right HMV :pac:

delbertgrady

HMV only have themselves to blame for their current situation. Incessant campaigns just lead to cynicism from the consumer. Why buy this DVD for €9.99 when it'll probably be €6.99 next week? Emo kids buying Twilight posters, Mars bars and cheap My Chemical Romance t-shirts were never going to be able to keep them afloat either.

They jumped on the Blu-Ray bandwagon with indecent haste, devoting lots of floor space to what is still a very niche market (in the grand scheme of things), and whose Euro-for-Euro returns probably don't match that very space they've allocated to it.
Grafton Street moving their entire music catalogue to the basement was another serious mistake. I'm sure the figures justified the decision, but the ground floor has lacked any sort of focus since.

They took their eye off the ball by effectively ceasing to cater for the older customer, the type of person who would willingly put money over the counter, if only (a) they got the stock in, and (b) they were priced competitively. * Also, they would be the first port of call for anyone looking for music or DVDs who may not necessarily be internet-savvy. How many mums, dads, etc. made a beeline for HMV when presented with Christmas wishlists? It's the name everyone knows. But they're failing to present their store or their stock in the appropriate way.

I still buy vinyl, but HMV have tried and failed to stock decent vinyl before, so in the unlikely event that the Dublin stores resurrect their vinyl sections to any serious degree, it'll be very interesting. Personally, I can't see them bothering. They'll continue to get the major new releases in on LP, but after that, forget it.

* Here's a few specific examples from the tail end of last year: Grafton Street failed to get The Beach Boys' SMiLE box set in, arguably one of the most anticipated releases of 2011. Meanwhile, Tower got in about seven or eight copies on the day of release, and got a few more the week after on re-order. That's several hundred Euro in their till. Happy days for them. HMV did get Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here box set, but apart from the fact that they proceeded to bash every copy with their unnecessary, wraparound, cord security tags, it was also cheaper in Tower - €130 as opposed to €150. The Who's Quadrophenia box set was €134.99 in HMV, €109.99 in Tower, as I recall. Do they not think people will shop around?

Technocentral

I'll defo have a look in, but I can't imagine it will out do Tower's great range. Is this definitely going to be Irish stores too?

lordgoat

Elastic Witch for all your vinyl needs in dub.

Technocentral

lordgoat wrote: »

Elastic Witch for all your vinyl needs in dub.

Do they sell new stuff too?

lordgoat

Technocentral wrote: »

Do they sell new stuff too?

He only does new stuff. Pretty much any indie release, Gib will get in. He'll also order some stuff in for you and keep stuff aside for you if you ask him.

Might be a little expensive E22/E24 but totally worth it to support a small local business that is filling a niche market.

henryporter

Wouldn't be too hard to improve things as far as vinyl offerings in HMV goes - it's the saddest little collection of bargain basement and wtf records I've ever seen stuck down the back of the basement in a corner. The Belfast store is equally as bad. At least Tower got on the bandwagon in time and have quite a good (if not well overpriced) selection.

Nolanger

Will they sell turntables next?