HMV ‘may sell’ the part of it’s strategy that is working

In 1921, the Gramophone Company opened the first HMV shop in London, England; the composer Sir Edward Elgar participated in the opening ceremonies.

Today we are on possibly seeing the last Christmas for HMV. I hope not, but things are looking dire for them. HMV has said it may sell its live music division to raise funds, as it battles with another drop in sales.

My view on all this is that it’s too little and too late. Back in the late nineties was the time for HMV to broaden their delivery of entertainment across other formats. The recent successful foray into live music is making money but is one of the few assets they can sell to prop up the business.

When the live music business goes, and the retrenching to a CD/games retailer is complete, why should we shop at HMV? Amazon does pretty well for me, as does iTunes and Spotify thank you.

How about flipping the strategy? Keep the profitable live music business and sell off/close the loss making shops. Just a thought.

Kevin Harrington

I’m a UK-based B2B marketing consultant, specialising in strategic advice for SME business owners. I bring extensive hands-on expertise to every client engagement. Senior leadership roles across technology, media, payments, and publishing have shaped my practical approach. Highlights include serving as Chief Marketing Officer at The Panoply plc (now TPXimpact), Chief Commercial Officer at Tungsten Network, and Global Marketing Director at BBC Worldwide. Over the years, I’ve guided numerous SMEs through transformation and value creation. Helping businesses evolve and thrive is a genuine passion. Practical marketing insights and succession planning strategies are at the heart of what I do, as I believe growing a business’s asset value should be a rewarding and positive journey for every entrepreneur.

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