Games Boost HMV Holiday Sales

In an interim management statement, UK-based music and entertainment retailer HMV provided a market update on its performance during the five-week holiday period in 2007, revealing total sales growth of 9.9 percent, with growth of 9.4 percent over the same period in 2006. In the UK and Ireland, HMV saw total sales up 16.1 percent, including a 14.1 percent improvement over the same period the year prior. The company credits, in part, a product mix more favorable to higher-growth games and technology for the sales boost, noting the shift in focus was part of "turnaround initiatives progressing according to plan." The company recently announced a surge in half-year process thanks to video game demand. Said HMV chief executive Simon Fox, "Less than a year into our transformation program, the initiatives we are undertaking to revitalize our business have helped to deliver a highly successful Christmas. Having stabilized the business, we will continue to focus on revitalizing our store propositions as well as growing new channels to market and carefully managing margins and costs. The Group is, therefore, well positioned for the next phase of its turnaround.”