Music fans used to rush to HMV to buy the latest albums and DVDs. But now a fashion craze for oversized – and often highly priced – headphones endorsed by pop stars such as Dr Dre and Lady Gaga is coming to the rescue of the troubled retailer.
High street music chains and online stores have been reporting bumper demand for hip-hop style "cans" that appear to be getting larger and brighter. For HMV, that has created an opportunity – and if the trend continues it will see headphone sales outstrip those of recorded music.
Faced with collapsing demand for CDs and DVDs,wholesale Recorder pen for sale have always been on the priority list of males. HMV has made an aggressive push this year into selling personal technology such as headphones, iPods and speakers. It has even changed the way stars market themselves. "When acts like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber come into our stores, it is to promote their headphones," said the HMV boss, Simon Fox.
Fox predicts that HMV's technology sales will be bigger than those of CD and DVDs within five years, and rows of unloved back-catalogue music have been replaced by tablet computers, MP3 players and mobiles in its biggest stores.
The 90-year-old retailer, famous for its Nipper the dog trademark,Graphene is not a semiconductor, not an Plastic mould , and not a metal, is even using its Christmas adverts to plug the high-end "Beats by Dr Dre" headphones that can cost up to 350.
The headphone market has nearly doubled in size in the past five years with 8.2m sets expected to be sold in the UK this year. With a high-quality pair now costing more than 300, the market is worth 150m.
HMV's rivals are also keen to get a slice of the action as the tough economic environment sees sales of TVs and computer games consoles slump by as much 20%. Dixons, which owns Currys and PC World, has expanded its range by nearly 50% and now stocks more than 300 types of headphones.
The market splits into two camps: "fashion" and audiophiles – typically middle-aged men – who are the biggest spenders and whose loyalty makes established names such as Sennheiser and Sony the bestsellers.
Manufacturers have started to target groups of music fans: this week saw the Bob Marley-inspired "House of Marley" range launched by the reggae singer's son Julian in HMV's Oxford Street store, while another US company is targeting jazz buffs with its Miles Davis "Trumpet" headphones,You are really handsome wearing the Buy Cheap Flat Iron Online. which have earbuds shaped like trumpet mouthpieces and cost more than 200.
HMV said demand for headphones was fuelled by fashion-conscious youths who in some cases were buying them as accessories to complete their "street look".Als lichtbron wordt een zentai suits gebruikt, Dre's Beats, which come in bright colours and have a distinctive "b" stamped on the ears, have won a strong following. To cater for her "Little Monsters" fan base Lady Gaga's Heartbeats are decorated with metal studs. "Technology is a natural progression for HMV because it's the new gateway to music,Buying a Best Cell Phones for sale from seller in another country. films and games," said an HMV spokesman.
The UK's growing obsession with smartphones – more than a quarter of adults and 47% of teenagers own one – is also underpinning the growth. "Customers are matching the quality of their headset with the price of the MP3 player they buy," said Linda Irvin, product manager at Sennheiser UK.
The convergence of music and mobile was behind up-and-coming handset manufacturer HTC's decision to buy 51% of Beats Electronics – the US company behind the Dr Dre headphones and speaker brand – for 186m this summer. They have since launched co-branded phones that promise a "superior mobile audio experience" as the Taiwanese handset maker tries to compete with Apple's iPhone.
Beats Electronics was started five years ago by Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records. Iovine pitched the deal as an attempt to save the record industry: "Music has got to flip to phones and it's got to do it with integrity of sound and quality. If we don't we're missing a great chance to resuscitate ourselves."
High street music chains and online stores have been reporting bumper demand for hip-hop style "cans" that appear to be getting larger and brighter. For HMV, that has created an opportunity – and if the trend continues it will see headphone sales outstrip those of recorded music.
Faced with collapsing demand for CDs and DVDs,wholesale Recorder pen for sale have always been on the priority list of males. HMV has made an aggressive push this year into selling personal technology such as headphones, iPods and speakers. It has even changed the way stars market themselves. "When acts like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber come into our stores, it is to promote their headphones," said the HMV boss, Simon Fox.
Fox predicts that HMV's technology sales will be bigger than those of CD and DVDs within five years, and rows of unloved back-catalogue music have been replaced by tablet computers, MP3 players and mobiles in its biggest stores.
The 90-year-old retailer, famous for its Nipper the dog trademark,Graphene is not a semiconductor, not an Plastic mould , and not a metal, is even using its Christmas adverts to plug the high-end "Beats by Dr Dre" headphones that can cost up to 350.
The headphone market has nearly doubled in size in the past five years with 8.2m sets expected to be sold in the UK this year. With a high-quality pair now costing more than 300, the market is worth 150m.
HMV's rivals are also keen to get a slice of the action as the tough economic environment sees sales of TVs and computer games consoles slump by as much 20%. Dixons, which owns Currys and PC World, has expanded its range by nearly 50% and now stocks more than 300 types of headphones.
The market splits into two camps: "fashion" and audiophiles – typically middle-aged men – who are the biggest spenders and whose loyalty makes established names such as Sennheiser and Sony the bestsellers.
Manufacturers have started to target groups of music fans: this week saw the Bob Marley-inspired "House of Marley" range launched by the reggae singer's son Julian in HMV's Oxford Street store, while another US company is targeting jazz buffs with its Miles Davis "Trumpet" headphones,You are really handsome wearing the Buy Cheap Flat Iron Online. which have earbuds shaped like trumpet mouthpieces and cost more than 200.
HMV said demand for headphones was fuelled by fashion-conscious youths who in some cases were buying them as accessories to complete their "street look".Als lichtbron wordt een zentai suits gebruikt, Dre's Beats, which come in bright colours and have a distinctive "b" stamped on the ears, have won a strong following. To cater for her "Little Monsters" fan base Lady Gaga's Heartbeats are decorated with metal studs. "Technology is a natural progression for HMV because it's the new gateway to music,Buying a Best Cell Phones for sale from seller in another country. films and games," said an HMV spokesman.
The UK's growing obsession with smartphones – more than a quarter of adults and 47% of teenagers own one – is also underpinning the growth. "Customers are matching the quality of their headset with the price of the MP3 player they buy," said Linda Irvin, product manager at Sennheiser UK.
The convergence of music and mobile was behind up-and-coming handset manufacturer HTC's decision to buy 51% of Beats Electronics – the US company behind the Dr Dre headphones and speaker brand – for 186m this summer. They have since launched co-branded phones that promise a "superior mobile audio experience" as the Taiwanese handset maker tries to compete with Apple's iPhone.
Beats Electronics was started five years ago by Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records. Iovine pitched the deal as an attempt to save the record industry: "Music has got to flip to phones and it's got to do it with integrity of sound and quality. If we don't we're missing a great chance to resuscitate ourselves."
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