"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
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"Iain Churches" wrote in message

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
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"Iain Churches" wrote in message


In contrast, the sales of CD have dwindled to such an
extent that HMV have announced the closure of 60
retail outlets,

So there has not been a strong transition of CD sales
from brick-and-mortar local store to superstore and web
in Europe, as there has been in the US?

Indeed there has. If you were a European you would know
that HMV *is* the superstore, or one of them, with
incredible stocks, and very knowledgeable and helpful
sales personel. No on-line outlet can offer this level of
friendly service and expertise.

If there are 60 of them in a place the size of the UK, then they are not
what we recognize as superstores in the US.

The statement was that 60 were to be closed, not that there were 60.
Certainly in the not too distant past there was an HMV in the high street of
almost every medium sized town as well as serveral in the larger towns and
cities. I've no idea how many are left, but with the move of much of the CD
and DVD market to on-line retailers (fuelled, as Jim has explained by the
Channel Island tax loop-hole) coupled with the rise of the download has
dealt a body-blow to high-street music retailers.

I don't quite know what you mean by "superstores". Do you mean specialist
music and video "superstores"? or do you mean general superstores that sell
pretty much everything? If the former then I don't think we have them in the
UK, HMV would have been the nearest approximation. If the later, yes we have
Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons who between them have most of the UK
market in food, plus a considerable share of the market in clothes and
houshold goods. They have also moved into things like insurance and
financial services. And yes, those stores sell "chart" CDs and DVDs too.

No such thing as anything like a Best Buy or Wal Mart
"Big box" store in Europe that wipes out neighborhood
stores for miles around?

Absolutely. Tesco in particular have been very effective in doing that. A
small town near me is currently mounting a rear-guard action to try to stop
Tesco building a superstore there because the townsfolk know that it will
destroy much of the high-street. But these big companies have considerable
resources and know how to get round the planners.

David.