Music and video game retailer HMV, which operates nine stores in the Republic, said today underlying sales continued to grow during the summer, albeit at a slower rate, with robust demand for games such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Wii Fit and Mario Kart offsetting falling sales of CDs.
HMV's performance was driven by its UK and Ireland division, which continued to defy the gloom seen in most parts of the high street, reporting like-for-like sales growth of 4.3 per cent.
One year into a three-year plan to revitalise the music, DVD, games and books retailer's businesses and counteract rapidly declining non-digital sales, chief executive Simon Fox said today his strategic initiatives were on track despite the tough consumer environment in the UK.
In a statement published ahead of its annual shareholder meeting, HMV which also owns Waterstone’s book stores, said its like-for-like sales for the 18 weeks to August 30th rose 1.3 per cent.
This was broadly in line with analysts' expectations but a sharp slowdown from growth of 10.1 percent in the previous quarter.
Sales growth in games approaching 50 percent and growth of 40 per cent in the new technology product category offset a 9 percent fall in music sales and growth of just 2 per cent in DVDs.
HMV International, which comprises stores in Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore, saw underlying sales increase 2.9 percent.
However, the group outturn was held back by a 4.3 percent fall in like-for-like sales at the Waterstone's book chain, reflecting a weaker book market and tough comparative numbers as the same period last year was boosted by the final instalment of the Harry Potter series.