hmv is built on the passion of our colleagues. We are sorry to have to say goodbye to some amazing people today. Thank you for your hard work and dedication over the years. We will miss you pic.twitter.com/8KbhIQ1Gyb— hmv (@hmvtweets) February 5, 2019
With yesterdays news about HMV still ringing in my ears, I've had some further thoughts about the situation.
Whereas in the past, youths were probably the largest demographic buying music from shops, I think it's people of my age (40+) that hold all the cards for HMV.
I don't imagine that new owner, Sunrise Records plans to splash the cash on every store interior immediately but it's clear that the business model needs to change, otherwise they'll be in danger of the same fate again.
Let's breakdown the age demographics, as how I see them.
25 and below. They mainly stream music - either directly from subscription services such as Spotify and iTunes (or illegal sources). It's doubtful that many would be as interested in purchasing CD's or vinyl, or DVD's and Blurays for that matter. Everyone has a Netflix account or knows of a website that streams films. Don't neglect this age-group - but also don't imagine that they'll be a huge money-spinner in-store either. Keep an eye on youth trends and perhaps find a completely different product to get them through the door.
25-35. Musical tastes have changed. Not afraid of physical formats, even vinyl.
35-50. The 80s was such a memorable decade and quite often, nostalgia has a huge role in musical tastes and purchases. Some remember vinyl very fondly and began collecting all over again. There are lot of passionate music geeks like myself. We remember what we liked about the record shops of our youth, we were probably just recently looking through that racks in charity shops for a vintage find - much of what made record shops so good was the simple things, but getting your stock right is so very important.
50+. Mature, often brilliant musical knowledge. Not necessarily fussed about flash displays and interiors. Plenty of music geeks.
I realise that's a simplistic and possibly a little bit insulting run through the age demographics, but there is some truth there. Of course, I'm not speaking on behalf of everyone.
My followers on social media are largely my age and we LOVE physical formats, we love our collections and we love the experience of shopping. We remember the days of browsing through racks of records very fondly.
We often post pictures of our collections on Instagram because we're excited and proud of them. This interaction starts some really great conversations with others and that's when you very clearly witness the enthusiasm that people still have.
HMV - it's not over.
Use this opportunity to truly understand what customers want. Don't be lazy and carry on as usual. No more tacky neon sale signs as that cheapens the experience. We love a bargain but don't want to feel like HMV has become a discount warehouse - so find a middle ground, where prices are fair ...and that no doubt involves lots of discussions with industry stakeholders, so make some calls and get the appointments sorted now.
Make clearly thought-out, sensible changes and for gods sake, speak to your often wonderful staff, as I bet they have some great ideas as most of them are geeks like me.
