HMV and Jessops could be leaving Bromley but not the Apple Store.

So why is the Bromley’s new Apple store full of people? As a resident of Bromley I have recently experienced the services of HMV, Jessops and the Apple store. Two are going under and one is thriving. So why are two technology electrical businesses going under?

The way we now decide to buy has changed beyond all recognition from 20 years ago and it’s
changing rapidly all the time and some retailers have put their heads in the sand. First of all let’s take HMV whose core products are music, DVDs, games and now music playing devices.

So have they gone from music specialists to Jack of all trades? In terms of music, a large proportion
of the younger music buying population has had alternative (in some cases free) outlets to acquire
music. They have not purchased music from HMV for a long time in some cases some younger
customers have never used HMV. Why pay £7.99 or more when they can find it much cheaper?

For someone my age, I’m just a tiny bit over 50 a store like HMV simply does not stock the sort of
music I wish to buy. I use a free app called Spotify that allows me to stream music for free and then
if I like it I use sites like Amazon who stock it. I order it usually at a cheaper price than HMV and it’s
delivered to my door.

In terms of DVDs, I must admit, this leaves me frustrated. A lot of younger people tell me that there are many web sites that stream movies for free. I don’t use them (I don’t know how) so again why buy what is available for much less? When I do buy a DVD I’m left frustrated that some are £3.99
some are £5.00 and then the one I want is £17.99. It’s not clever marketing, it’s a total mess and I
feel I’m being taken for a ride. So over the last couple of years what have HMV done to stay in the
game? Your guess is as good as mine, whatever it was it did not seem to work. They did not change
with the times.

Ok now let’s take a look at Jessops. I wanted a decent camera to last a while. I had a budget of £350 and not a clue what to buy. I went online first to read some revues and liked the Olympus SZ. For
this purchase I did want to touch and feel, so I went in store to Jessops in Bromley. My first slight
irritation was that there were only 3 people in the store but only two people serving so I did have a
15 minute wait. When I did get a chance to hold the camera the assistant could not tell me anymore
than I had found out myself and I’m a novice.

I did want to buy from a store because I wanted to have a relationship with a company should it
not work and I can talk to a person. The price was Ok but I could have got it cheaper on line. My
experience was OK. Since I have owned the camera I only know how to use a small % of what it can do, it has so many functions it’s untrue. If Jessops had a camera workshop in store to help novices like me would I go along? Yes definitely, would it have built loyalty and future sales? Yes.

So now it’s back fired because I have a camera that is semi redundant and I now have lost my
personal relationship. So over the last couple of years what have Jessops done to stay in the game?

Your guess is as good as mine, whatever it was it did not seem to work.

They did not change with
the times.