YouGov BrandIndex predicts HMV ‘bounce back’
The latest YouGov BrandIndex is predicting a surprise turnaround in the fortunes of struggling High Street retailer HMV after it clocked up stronger sales amidst improved consumer perception.
Arresting a seemingly terminal decline amidst fierce competition from online rivals such as Amazon, which saw the group being placed into administration, but may now be mounting something of a comeback.
HMV’s new found success has come principally at the expense of supermarkets as it refocuses on its core music and film business following a rejig of store layouts and new marketing initiatives.
This has seen the chain emphasise live gigs and record signings whilst building its pure HMV loyalty programme and nurturing relationships with record labels and film studios. These activities have served to give the brand a healthy index reading of 10.6 with a positive rating of +0.2 – a far cry from the depths of last year when it plumbed -2.4.
In a statement YouGov said: “There was a large spike in YouGov’s ad awareness metric from September until December last year, obviously coinciding with the desire to cash in on the Christmas bounce. Looking beyond this though, it shows that HMV felt they were in a strong enough position to commit once again to a high profile campaign. Its future forays into the advertising market will be key for their re-development.
“There are questions still outstanding however; how sustainable is this recovery? Does the brand need to use it stores as a means of encouraging a far greater proportion of e-commerce income? And how will HMV try to out-manoeuvre its rivals in the months ahead? “
HMV was acquired from administration in Hillco in January 2013.