E-commerce at HMV - Assignment Example

8 May 2008 E-Commerce at HMV Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Description of Company 4 2.1 Current Market Position 5 2.2 Is HMV a successful cyber merchant? 5 2.3 Has HMV built effective customer relations? 6 2.4 Is HMV website a successful site? 6 2.5Major Competitors 7 3.0 Our Consultancy Expertise 7 1.0 Introduction Today HMV has to maintain its position in a hybrid economy which consists of old and new elements like retail stores and dedicated websites. Hence it is a must that it chalks out a highly competitive e-commerce strategy, rather then solely relying on the traditional arrangements like retail stores. It is imperative for HMV to respond precisely to the demands of its customers in this era of digitization and connectivity. Though it has a dedicated website, a professional execution of this digital portal will certainly help in increasing its sails. A beneficial alignment of professional graphics, appropriate content and easy navigation will go a long way in boosting its profits. Merely having a website to sell products online is not the same as being successful online retailers. Hence HMV needs the services of professional e-commerce specialists to streamline all the aspects of its online business. Help form a consultancy company that can furnish a complete range of skills will definitely help HMV in streamlining its online retail operations. To cater to a company like HMV, the professionals hired should not only be techno-savvy, but must be able to deal with other aspects like, evolving and changing objectives, company politics, future expectations and existing business plans. 2.0 Description of Company HMV is at present a leading retailer of music, DVDs and Computer Games in the UK and Ireland. It also has a chain of retail stores in Canada where it has successfully established it self as a leading music retailer. The company also has retail stores in Hong Kong and Singapore. 2.1 Current Market Position This year, the sales figures of HMV shot up by 12.2 percent. The company is expecting a growth of 9.6 percent in the UK and Ireland. It has managed to retain a strong position in the DVD and Computer Games segment. Margins have improved. Its retail website continues to double its sales every year. Thus the company is in the need of consultancy services in all the segments of retail to absorb this massive growth impact. So far as the international business of HMV is concerned, which includes its stores in Canada and the seven stores in Hong Kong and Singapore, the sales went down by 1.6 percent in the last 18 weeks. Stockbrokers expect a strong performance by HMV in the times to come. After an initial slump, the HMV stocks rose to 105-110p this year. This HMV is having a problem in acclimatizing it self to this massive growth melee and needs to outsource for specialists to streamline its retail store business and especially its online operations. 2.2 Is HMV a successful cyber merchant? HMV has the most productive website in the music retailing industry that has proven to be a great success since the last few years. This website has continued with its positive trend of doubling its profits every year. The HMV website was visited by roughly 9 million people over the last five weekend period. It has consistently retained its position amongst the country’s top ten most visited retail sites. The primary reason for the success of this websites is that it has managed to gather a wide range of products under one roof. This website has proven to be a great source of advertising for HMV. Most of the times, the customers visit an HMV retail store only after seeing a product on its website. Overall, HMV has been successfully able to blend its cyber goals in its existing assortment of traditional retail outlets like stores and mail order service. 2.3 Has HMV built effective customer relations? The HMV retail website provides ample services to its customers to retain their goodwill. It offers a massive choice of merchandise in all genres at competitive prices. The site is easy to navigate and customer friendly. Free delivery is offered to customers on all the online purchases and most of the times customers end up with a good bargain. The products are updated on a regular basis. Recently HMV has launched its social networking site that is considered to be a core part of its future digital offering. It will enable a healthy consumer interaction that is salubrious for its music, gaming and entertainment business. 2.4 Is HMV website a successful site? HMV has created its website with a comprehensive goal and a long-term view. The site is updated on a regular basis with an eye on the latest technological developments. The site is easy to navigate and offers ample speed and stability with platform compatibility. It has been designed after giving dew consideration to important factors such as website design, merchant account, shopping cart and payment gateway selection. 2.5 Major Competitors HMV’s primary competitors in the UK are Woolworths, W H Smith, Virgin and supermarkets. There also exists a small independent specialist sector. The online competitors of HMV are Amazon, Play.com and many generalist and mass merchant retailers. So far as the Canadian market is concerned, the potent competitors of HMV are Best Buy, Wall Mart, Sunrise and Future Shop. Certainly HMV is operating in an environment of cut throat competition and does not afford to be complacent. Considering the plethora of well established online competitors like Amazon and Play.com, HMV needs to muster all the expertise it can to retain its position of leadership. Any negative fallout in the online retail segment will also have an undesired impact on its traditional retail business. 3.0 Our Consultancy Expertise Our e-commerce consultancy service has a long experience in handling and streamlining futuristic retail operations. The company also specializes in taking advantage of the online retail potential unequally distributed amongst companies and industries. We not only specialize in all aspects of online trading like online payments and security, understanding of web design, online marketing, search engines, search engine optimization but also have the expertise in securing customer attention and soliciting customer loyalty. Special emphasis is paid by our experts on needs assessment, competitive analysis and vendor evaluation. Meticulous efforts are made to enhance customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction rates, improving brand perception, enhancing business efficiencies and improving over all business metrics. Thus over state of the art e-commerce consultancy services can prove to be really helpful for HMV, so far as consolidating its online retail business is concerned. Works Cited hmv.com, viewed 8 May 2008, hmvgroup, viewed 8 May 2008, ‘HMV has a pleasant surprise’, Hemscott, viewed 8 May 2008, Read More