HMV Share Discussion Threads

[graham2405] 04/1/2013 17:07

Yes, there was a large buy (ish £11k worth) at the last minute, must have thrown the market makers a little.

Still, appears that there are plenty of retail punters willing to put money into this pup.

Trick is, selling them before the music stops and at a profit.

[totally banjo] 04/1/2013 16:46

That little 50k took a while

[graham2405] 04/1/2013 16:27

"And conflict is arising around HMV's remaining debt: lenders are reportedly planning to sell their loans to prevent Apollo from taking over the company and selling off its assets."

Yes the elephant in the room....

Apollo could call in the loans if HMV breaks the terms (i.e. covenants), in short they could request a winding up petition.

https://www.gov.uk/wind-up-a-company-that-owes-you-money/overview

Banks are reluctant to take that step, but those vulture funds, a very different matter indeed.

This would force HMV to clear the loans that Apollo hold (else go into admin). How exactly could HMV pay them back?

Either way Apollo could make out, one by getting 100% of the debt paid that they bought for pennies in the pound, or by forcing it into a prepack situation and then making an offer for the brand, the website and a few stores.

All IMVHO

[totally banjo] 04/1/2013 16:20

lol,right on cue!

[graham2405] 04/1/2013 16:17

Virgin France declares insolvency.......

"Virgin France is to declare itself insolvent, the latest music chain to fail against a backdrop of consumers shifting to buying digital music.

"In the UK, music, films and games retailer HMV has warned that it faces an uncertain future in the face of continuing falling sales.

"Our Price, Tower Records, Virgin Megastores, Zavvi, MVC, Music Zone, Andy's, Border's and Woolworths are all well-known names that have disappeared from streets in recent years."

[totally banjo] 04/1/2013 16:17

ANALYSIS: How HMV is hanging on
by James Batchelor
24 minutes ago



We are barely a week into the New Year and once again there is much talk about HMV's financial troubles.

The firm recently warned that it may breach lending agreements this month, and has been in constant talks with suppliers, banks and lenders over Christmas.

And in what is becoming an annual tradition, MCV suggests that the retailer still has some strengths worth remembering.

Let's start with some number crunching.

HMV posted a £36.1m loss for the 26 weeks ending October 27th, 2012. That is unwelcome news for any retailer, but this is not as severe as the £50m loss HMV posted in 2011.

These numbers don't include the firm's Christmas takings, which are due to be announced later this month and may show that HMV is slowing its decline.

True, HMV's debts rose to £220m in 2012 but ten per cent of this was acquired last month US private equity firm Apollo Global Management, removing strict bank deadlines.

Reports suggest the chain also received £40m from music and film firms keen to maintain a crucial channel for physical product. Understandable, given that discs still account for the majority of sales in films, as well as 62 per cent of music.

REACHING OUT

This boost from suppliers shows how their relationship with HMV has improved.

The retailer turned to music, film and later games firms for support in early 2012. Music and film firms rallied behind HMV, reportedly allowing greater access to back catalogues and the option to buy stock on consignment: concessions that have made life a little easier for the specialist.

Games firms have aided HMV with more activity at its Oxford Street branch, such as official launches for Black Ops II and Wii U.

Head of technology and games Ewan Pinder told MCV: "It's amazing how things can change. Our relationship with key partners has become much stronger and more positive over the course of the year."

The collapse of major rival GAME last year was also a blessing, helping HMV's market share in the games space rise by six per cent. Again, the Oxford Street branch benefitted greatly from the absence of GAME.

PART OF THE PLAN

There's no denying HMV is in a dangerous position.

Reports suggest the Royal Bank of Scotland, one of six banks supporting the retailer, is sounding out administrators in case HMV's Christmas takings fall below expectations.

And conflict is arising around HMV's remaining debt: lenders are reportedly planning to sell their loans to prevent Apollo from taking over the company and selling off its assets.

But it's important to remember that HMV's plight is part of overall decline seen on the High Street and in entertainment.

The retailer has previously explained that its has a long-term plan to return to profitability. It has had another bump in a long and arduous road, but HMV remains resilient in its determination.

Said Pinder: "Any transition takes time, not least in entertainment which is undergoing huge change in the way that it's distributed and consumed. But we have a strong brand and we have faith in our future prospects."

[graham2405] 04/1/2013 15:35

Yes, we all know that HMV have digital sites, and I have little doubt that they are or at least should be, very profitable.

Unfortunately the cost of running or indeed closing over 200 branches is somewhat prohibitive in HMV group making a profit.

What they should have done........

When sales started to decline they should have started to close branches, right away, not after it was too late.

They should have used shareholder cash to focus online and not attempted to diversify into books (which has also been hit by Amazon and eReaders) and numerous other vain attempts at diversification. Tech being yet another attempt.

If staff end up losing their jobs, it is because of these management failures.

[graham2405] 04/1/2013 14:56

"Figures showed CD album sales down nearly 20% to 69.4 million copies, although digital album sales rose by 14.8% to 30.5 million."


"A total of 389,000 LPs were sold in 2012 - an increase of 15.3% compared with 2011."

So 69 million CDs sold last year in the UK, and only 389 thousand vinyl.

Do the math...........vinyl sales are irrelavant to HMVs survival.

[totally banjo] 04/1/2013 14:50

graham2405-calm down,don't get all worked up over hmv.

[graham2405] 04/1/2013 14:46

Vinyl sales up, you are taking the p, from what levels, how much of HMVs turnover is from vinyl, I'd be very surprised if it totalled more than 0.1%.

The death of retail gaming........

"Borderlands 2 and the so-called death of retail

"Is retail dying? It's difficult to ignore the hard facts and figures. Sales of physical video games are almost 30 per cent down this year. GAME had to close half of its stores. Big brands such as Halo and Call of Duty failed to match their predecessors at Day One. Even new hardware Wii U and Vita were greeted with indifference from some.

"The reasons for these difficulties have been discussed at length in MCV this year; the rise of the digital games market, the on-going economic storm, the end of the console cycle."



....and with all this some 'highly intelligent individuals' (substitute as you see fit) think that HMV will survive.

FACE THE FACTS............

The high street retail of media is rapidly becoming a niche activity, given this nothing can survive with well over 100 high street stores and over £150million of debt.

Rocket science it is not........

[loganair] 04/1/2013 14:42

graham2405 - An excellent article, the best I've read on the demise of the music retailers, much of which in one way or another I as have others posted on this thread.

[totally banjo] 04/1/2013 14:39

Why do I always attract the nutters.....

"graham2405 4 Jan'13 - 14:31 - 2552 of 2554 0 0(premium)


"And before the resident numpty tries to string a sentence together....hmv may or may not offer shareholder value....hence current share price position!"

Shareholder value,I should say so, shares are currently worth circa 1.7p per share.

Whilst the equity in the company is worth -31p per share.

1.7p for your HMV shares, I'm stunned that they are still selling for so much.....

Bury any criticsm in spam......nice try

graham2405 4 Jan'13 - 14:35 - 2553 of 2554 0 0(premium)




Although I disagree, IMHO Apple and Amazon put the knife into HMV."

[totally banjo] 04/1/2013 14:37

A bit more on the above (no not the resident numpty):

The xx lead vinyl album sales resurgence

Sales of vinyl LPs have grown for the fifth successive year, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Coexist, the second album by The xx, was the best-selling vinyl album of 2012.

In second place was the 2012 re-release of David Bowie's The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.

A total of 389,000 LPs were sold in 2012 - an increase of 15.3% compared with 2011.

Originally released in June 1972, Ziggy Stardust was remastered and reissued on vinyl to commemorate the album's 40th anniversary.

Other big-selling LPs in 2012 included Jack White's Blunderbuss at number three and Adele's 21 in fourth place.

The Invisible Band by Travis remains the top-selling vinyl LP of the 21st Century, with 28,700 copies sold since its release in 2001.

The second biggest seller of the millennium is The King Of Limbs - issued by Radiohead initially as a download then in May 2011 as a special "newspaper edition" that included two 10-inch vinyl records.

"With more than 60 years of loyal service, the vinyl LP is by some margin the most enduring album format of all time," said BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor.

"Although sales overall are small compared to CD and digital albums, vinyl's collectability and appeal to audiophiles is drawing in new fans, in particular through initiatives like the popular annual Record Store Day.

"Increasingly LPs also include codes that can be redeemed online for digital albums - giving fans the best of both worlds."

Earlier this week, the BPI revealed that overall UK album sales fell by 11.2% in 2012.

Figures showed CD album sales down nearly 20% to 69.4 million copies, although digital album sales rose by 14.8% to 30.5 million.

[graham2405] 04/1/2013 14:35

Although I disagree, IMHO Apple and Amazon put the knife into HMV.

[graham2405] 04/1/2013 14:31

"And before the resident numpty tries to string a sentence together....hmv may or may not offer shareholder value....hence current share price position!"

Shareholder value,I should say so, shares are currently worth circa 1.7p per share.

Whilst the equity in the company is worth -31p per share.

1.7p for your HMV shares, I'm stunned that they are still selling for so much.....

Bury any criticsm in spam......nice try

[peterboroughmatt] 04/1/2013 14:12

Wonder if there will be a placing so they can raise funds to buy Virgin France.

[clocktower] 04/1/2013 11:01

Virgin France - Down and out - How much longer can HMV last?

[totally banjo] 04/1/2013 10:00

New Year, new start despite 2012 washout
by Christopher Dring
22 minutes ago



The UK games industry is hoping for a brighter 2013 after last year's software sales fell by almost £400m.

39.5m physical games were sold over the last 12 months, 15m fewer than in 2011. This generated £1bn, a drop of 26.4 per cent year-on-year.

According to IHS?Screen Digest, UK?digital game sales did increase by 7.7 per cent to £552m. But this doesn't fill the gap created by the fall in boxed sales.

Top retail bosses are now looking ahead to the next 12 months, with hopes that the likes of GTA V plus new hardware will turn the declining market around.

"GTA?V's been a long time coming and the excitement's ramped up all of a sudden," said Game Retail's store director Dave Howard. "It's going to be massive. And it's going to be interesting to see what happens with hardware."

Asda's games boss Craig Thirkell added: "We're really excited about GTA V – it's a real opportunity to get the shops behind a big launch and of course nothing will be quite as good as hearing about any new consoles from both Microsoft and Sony – a new home console would be a real buzz."

HMV's games boss Andy Pinder added: "Q1 is looking strong with some key franchises returning."

[totally banjo] 04/1/2013 08:55

7digital expands app portfolio with new app for Windows Phone 8

London, UK, 3 January 2013 – 7digital, one of the leading open digital music platforms, today announced its app for Windows Phone 8 is now available in the Windows Store.

The new version updates 7digital's existing app for Windows Phone 7. The app provides users access to 7digital's entire catalogue of 22 million high quality digital music tracks, allowing users to search for favourite artists and tracks, and discover new music based on 7digital's recommendation technology. 30 second previews clips are available on all tracks, and previously purchased music is automatically added to a user's cloud-based 7digital Locker for access on any device or through a web browser.

The new app includes:

◦Support for HD screens on the latest Windows Phone 8 devices
◦Fast app resume, a new feature in Windows Phone 8 that creates a premium experience for multitasking between apps and a quick return to your music
◦Improved Live Tiles so you can pin your favourite albums and artists to your Start Screen for quick access to the music you like or might want to buy. Three different Live Tile sizes are now available with the 7digital app for Windows Phone 8.
◦Improved download support allows up to 25 background transfers at any one time

The latest update adds Windows Phone 8 to 7digital's existing apps portfolio for iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices. The app can be downloaded for free from the Windows Store and is available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish.



hmv have a 35% stake in 7digital:

[graham2405] 04/1/2013 08:50

"And before the resident numpty tries to string a sentence together....hmv may or may not offer shareholder value....hence current share price position!"

Shareholder value,I should say so, shares are currently worth circa 1.7p per share.

Whilst the equity in the company is worth -31p per share.

1.7p for your HMV shares, I'm stunned that they are still selling for so much.....