Simon Fox: HMV will retain its strong high street presence

Despite the challenges the business faces with the growth of digital, having hundreds of stores is “absolutely at the heart of the offer”, he said.

However he said that because the business is still undergoing a major transformation of its entire model, it will look very different in five years, despite maintaining a high street presence. “We will be selling different product to the product we sell today, we will have a network of live festivals on a national, rather than local basis, and a digital business that is as present on as many consumers’ tablets and mobiles as possible.”

Fox was speaking in a session which explored the future of the high street. To keep shoppers spending on the high street, he said it was vital that stores were “fun, entertaining and engaging in a way that off-street retailers can’t do”.

He pointed to its partnership with the Curzon cinema in Wimbledon, as well as gaming stations and music artists’ in-store launches of product as examples of innovation going on at HMV that aim to inject that fun and entertainment into its high-street stores. “We’re changing fast, and we’re committed to being on the high street for some time,” he said.

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