HMV Group Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

HMV Group - Case Study Example This report highlights the various strategic options available to the HMV Group as well as an analysis of the potential effectiveness of these new strategies based on the current strategic position of the organisation. an isolated incident which did not stem from higher consumer patronage and online sales, but from the sale of HMV Japan (Bryant, 2008). It appears that HMV Group was experiencing minimal sales volumes in the Japanese division of the company, thus the sale of this particular business unit was performed in order to increase total company liquidity and make the company's stock appear more viable for long-term investment. The implementation of the Japanese HMV division did not bring adequate sales results to the company, thus this was an initial failure at diversifying the company's total business portfolio. Additionally, and much to the surprise of the HMV Group leadership, the company experienced its best Christmas sales in December 2008, largely due to video game sales in the HMV division (Financial Times, 2008). This seems to have taken the company on a new strategic direction by January 2009, with a much higher focus on video game sales and less focus on music sales and downloads. The 3.0 Strategic options for HMV Group The company is currently facing a considerable amount of competition stemming from the rise of online retailers, the digital download environment competitors and also supermarkets which appear to be attempting to cash in on music and other digital media sales (Bryant). There is no research evidence which suggests why consumers are moving toward supermarkets and online retailers for their music and digital media selections, however since these competitors are eroding the firm's total profitability, the company needs to select several new strategies in order to build competitive advantage and emerge, again, as the leader in this type of digital format sales. Pricing Strategy: From a sales and marketing perspective, the company would benefit from taking both a price-based strategy and a differentiation strategy in order to build the type of sales growth expected by the company. In today's difficult economic environment, it is relatively common knowledge that many consumers have cut back on their spending habits due to fear of the short-term effect on personal consumer income. The company should adopt a low price strategy and a