UK Retailer HMV Sees 22% Drop In Q1 Retail Sales

UK retailer HMV has posted financial results for its first quarter of the current fiscal year, noting a 21.8 percent decline in retail sales. However, the company said that it was looking forward to good results for the rest of the year, thanks to big gaming releases such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Batman: Arkham City. For the quarter ended September 3, 2011, HMV chief executive Simon Fox explained, "Trends in HMV Retail were broadly unchanged during the Group's first quarter, with like for like sales decline at 15.1 percent." "Total HMV retail sales, including the impact of 29 store closures, were down 21.8 percent," he continued. The company has yet to reveal actual revenue or profit figures. "Overall, our plans for the Christmas trading period are on track, and we are focused on providing HMV customers with the very best offers across all of our product categories and live venues," he concluded. In June, HMV posted financial results for the 2010 fiscal year, noting that the sale of video games had "significantly underperformed" compared to the company's expectations.