Virgin to turn up its music offer

Virgin Megastore will increase its music range by 20 per cent in all outlets in an effort to beat a declining chart market.

The entertainment specialist also plans to up its DVD range by between 20 and 40 per cent, but has yet to finalise the exact proportion.

In Virgin's Oxford Street flagship, for example, the music range will go up from 105,000 to 125,000 lines. The increase is all in back-catalogue product.

Virgin Retail group operations director Dennis Henderson said: 'There is still a market for quality music. By increasing our range, we reduce our exposure to short-term dips in the charts or multi-buy campaigns markets.'

Virgin Megastore also plans to give concession space to sister company Virgin Mobile, following a successful 10-store trial.

The operator will have concessions in 91 Megastores by October, with dedicated full-time staff. The venture will be extended to 160 stores by the end of next year.

Improving availability is also a key focus. Hand-held terminals to identify availability problems will be introduced in about 16 stores this autumn, and extended to the rest of the chain by February.

Meanwhile, Virgin will introduce a download service on its Web site in September, to offer individual tracks. Prices are not yet finalised.

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