HMV and Asda are best-placed to scoop up market share following Game store closures in a competitive entertainment market.
Specialist Game collapsed in March, closing 277 stores. The remaining 333 shops were later acquired by OpCapita.
Kantar Worldpanel consumer research manager Craig Armer said HMV was “best-placed to gain from Game’s store closures”.
He said: “Its customer requires a more specialist, in-depth range. HMV had said it would trim its range of games but I suspect that will not happen now.”
He believed that Asda was also likely to do well because it has a strong offer and discounts heavily.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s have already made plays for Game’s share with marketing and promotion.
Grocers are also ramping up their music offering. Sainsbury’s last week launched an MP3 music download service on its entertainment microsite, with a first-track free promotion. The grocer last year acquired online entertainment company Global Media Vault for £1m to aid online growth.
In the entertainment category, figures this week showed Asda was the strongest grocer in the 12 weeks to March 18. Its share rose from 8.1% to 9.3% quarter on quarter, Kantar Worldpanel data revealed. Asda is offering free delivery across entertainment orders online.
HMV wrested back entertainment share from Amazon in the last quarter, after the etail giant overtook it in market share for the first time the previous quarter. Amazon had enjoyed a particularly strong Christmas.
In the last quarter HMV’s share rose from 17.5% to 19.2% while Amazon’s dropped from 22.4% to 19.9% quarter on quarter. The most recent quarter did not take into consideration Game’s collapse.
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