Dog days of summer unkind to HMV

The dog days of summer were not good for entertainment media retailer HMV, which saw another catastrophic decline in like-for-like (LFL) sales, casting more doubts over the long-term future of the company.

In the 20 weeks to September 15th, LFL sales in HMV Retail slumped 11.6%, though the decline was less marked towards the end of the period, revealed Trevor Moore, the newish Chief Executive, while clutching at straws.

Somewhat belatedly, the group is shifting emphasis away from selling low-margin media goods which can be purchased more cheaply online, and is pushing more portable digital technology devices in its new-look stores. Sales of these continue to grow strongly, the company said.

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"As anticipated the summer has seen a very quiet new release schedule in the group's core music, visual and games markets and, whilst the group has increased share in these markets, it has continued to experience significant market value declines," HMV revealed.

It is not surprising that the group has increased market share, as the demise of GAME has more or less left it as the "last man standing" on the high street in the entertainment media sector.

Including the impact of previously announced store closures, total group sales declined by 14.8% year-on-year in the reporting period.

Earlier this year the group sold the Hammersmith Apollo for £32m, paving the way for it to amend the terms of its existing £220m bank facility. The group's live division is the one bright spot in the whole HMV shebang but it may not remain part of the group for much longer, as the group is debating whether to sell it in order to further reduce indebtedness.

"These numbers reflect the challenging markets in which we operate," Moore said. "However ... we should be helped in the remainder of the year by a strong pipeline of new releases in the music, DVD and games markets ahead of Christmas," he added, still clutching those straws.