HMV has pushed the button on the roll out of its next generation of stores, following the unveiling of its first new-format shop in Dudley last week.
HMV chief executive Simon Fox said: "After Christmas, we will think about how many to roll out next year. At the moment, we are thinking of between 20 and 40." He said that the cost of the new stores is about£100 per square foot, which means it spent about£800,000 building the Dudley store. Fox added that with "value engineering, the cost of the roll out is likely to come down".
Today, HMV opened its second future store at Tunbridge Wells in Kent and will open two more next-generation stores in Liverpool and High Wycombe before Christmas. It will also take the new format to its store in Heathrow Terminal 5, which will open in March.
Fox declined to provide early sales figures from the Dudley store, but said he was "thrilled by the early results". The next-generation stores aim to raise conversion rates by 5 per cent.
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