HMV - another busted flush on the High Street

HMV has struggled to cope with fierce competition from online retailers and the supermarkets and a disappointing Christmas sales season has accentuated the problems facing a business that has occupied a place in hundreds of towns across the UK for many years. They are desperately trying to cut costs and have introduced a store-closing programme but will this be enough? My own experience in Harrogate this holiday season was one of continued disappointment. Three times I went into the store for separate items and three times I left empty-handed .... but my shopping companions simply shrugged their shoulders and suggested we order direct off Amazon via our mobile phones on the way home. HMV is a tired retail concept (much the same can be said of the staid Waterstones bookselling arm) and has the distinct whiff of Woolworths about it. 2011 might be the end.

BMW - Bavarian Monopolist at Work [24 May 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Game Theory and Business Economics [21 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: The Importance of Productivity [20 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Revision Notes on Supply-side Policies [10 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Using the Cost-Benefit Principle [30 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Quiz on Market Structures [11 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Evaluation Question on Supermarkets [11 Apr 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Market Failure in Private Health Care [8 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Revision on Contestable Markets [8 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Monopoly and Economic Welfare [6 Apr 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Productivity Improvements in China [3 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Post Office Threatens Smaller Photo Businesses [2 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Revision on Scale Economies, Technology and Prices [1 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: EU Imposes Further Price Cap on Mobile Phone Companies [29 Mar 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Focus on India - Supply Side Issues [25 Jan 2012]
2012 - Carnage on the High Street [28 Dec 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Oligopoly and Duopoly in Bus Markets [20 Dec 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Tacit Collusion in the Supermarket [27 Nov 2011]
MON€Y PANIC$ – A Visualisation Challenge [18 Nov 2011]
LSE lecture: Darwin economy [13 Nov 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Examples of Price Discrimination in Action [31 Oct 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Ofcom gives stamp of approval for flexible pricing in mail [21 Oct 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Contestable Markets - Lucozade takes on Coca Cola [10 Oct 2011]
Unit 1 Micro: Cotton Prices and the Retail Price of Clothing [13 Jul 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Oligopsony - Dairy Losses Drive Farmers from the Fields [10 Jul 2011]
Six Global Trends Shaping Business Strategy [15 Jun 2011]
AS Macro Key Term: Supply-Side Policies [25 May 2011]
AS Macro Key Term: Spare Capacity [23 May 2011]
AQA A2 Economics - European Context [23 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Competition Policy [20 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Oligopoly and Collusion [20 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Oligopoly [20 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Entry Barriers in Markets [19 May 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Monopsony Power in Markets [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: The Importance of Profit [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Market Structure, Conduct & Performance [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Consequences of Price Discrimination [19 May 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Perfect Competition [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Competition and Efficiency [19 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Outsourcing [18 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Business Growth [18 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Innovation and Economic Policies [18 May 2011]
A2 Micro: EU Aviation - State Aid and State Ownership [28 Apr 2011]
Wiki Revision: A to Z on Monopoly [23 Apr 2011]
Key AS Micro Terms: Competition and Monopoly [17 Apr 2011]
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AS Micro: Prices for New and Second Hand Cars [9 Apr 2011]
A2 Micro: Updates on Competition Issues [2 Apr 2011]
The New North - Population Shift [23 Mar 2011]
Timetric: Price convergence within the EU [13 Mar 2011]
Never Mind Plan B - Plan V needed for the UK Economy! [17 Feb 2011]
Changes in Real Prices [24 Jan 2011]
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Tesco - Time to start a price war! [19 Jan 2011]
Economics Q&A: Will the rise in VAT harm the UK’s economic performance? [17 Jan 2011]
Economics Q&A: How might rising food prices affect food retailers and manufacturers in the UK? [16 Jan 2011]
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Legal Cooperation between Businesses [30 Dec 2010]
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Pricing tricks and behavioural economics [12 Dec 2010]
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A2 Micro: Monopoly Price and Output [28 Oct 2010]
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OFT limits ASDA’s expansion plans [23 Sep 2010]
Smartphones and Apps - Complementary Demand [13 Sep 2010]
Behavioural economics and competition policy [12 Aug 2010]
EC on IBM [2 Aug 2010]
Unit 2 Macro: How can supply-side policies help in a recession? [6 Jun 2010]
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Unit 3 Micro: Efficiency and Price Intervention in Markets [21 May 2010]
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Ofcom bares its teeth [1 Apr 2010]
End of the Road for the Car Scrappage Scheme [31 Mar 2010]
OFT report finds welfare gains from liberalising pharmacies [23 Mar 2010]
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Launch of the RES Essay Competition 2010 - Essay Titles Are Revealed [14 Feb 2010]
Supermarkets accused of price gouging [13 Feb 2010]
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