High street consumers grant HMV a second chance

Music and entertainment retailer HMV has posted a 17.5% increase in sales for 2014, making it the UK's biggest seller of physical music and signalling a triumphant comeback following its decline into administration in 2013.

After falling into administration, 141 of the retailer's most profitable stores were taken on by the restructuring group Hilco who proceeded to implement a restructuring program over the course of almost 2 years which saw HMV move away from personal electronics and refocus on its core offering of CDs, DVDs and Vinyl.

Interestingly, book retailer Waterstones (which was once owned by HMV) has also announced positive results for 2014 after a string of loss making years (see our article here), prompting the question – are these comebacks the result of clever restructuring programs or a trend of consumers returning to entertainment in the form of physical products?

Whatever the reason for the second chance success of HMV, this story highlights the fact that the industry should not be too quick to give up on struggling retailers - with patience and the right people steering the ship some brands could be capable of a complete turnaround.

To find out more about HMV's comeback, see the FT's article available here.