week 6

Supply Chains

Hmv.com uses mostly a pull approach to supply chain management. Hmv can only really improve service quality and not the quality of the product. The purchasing cycles and response times of queries and orders are almost immediate. Information is shared between hmv.com and its suppliers allowing low levels of inventory to be kept without the risk of losing a sale. By focusing on the pull approach to supply chain management hmv.com are allowing they to constantly deliver value to its customers.

 

Hmv.com uses virtual integration in its everyday running. Most supply chain management activities are controlled outside of hmv.com, who in turn keep a close relationship with its suppliers. The business is not totally reliant on linked third parties as hmv.com has numerous stores to back up its supplies. These would only need to be used in extreme circumstances.

 

HMV Canada is partners with Bell in an exclusive distribution agreement. Bell Mobility’s superior wireless products and digital content distribution capabilities are available across the country in HMV Canada retail locations. This partnership leverages HMV Canada’s role as the nation’s leading retail entertainment destination with its media focused customers. Bell Mobility itself is also partners with Solo Mobile and Virgin Mobile; these companies will also offer products and services at HMV Canada locations.

 

Hmv.com’s procurement is maintained simply by long term partnerships and repeat purchasing. The products and services that hmv.com provide are obtained from a very limited number of suppliers. Using the same supplier for a long time not only shows loyalty but gains respect from the suppliers itself and this will ensure competitive prices

 

 

week 5

Threat of substitute products

Hmv.com is as open to the threat of substitute products as much as any other business. Fortunately for hmv it has long been established as one of the major businesses of its kind in both Europe and Asia. Hmv has two major competitors which offer only substitute services but identical products; this keeps the market competitive both online and in store.

The threat of the entry of new competitors

In order for a new competitor to be able to compete in this market they would need to launch their business on a global scale, this is almost completely unfeasible due to the shear amount of money it would take. Due to the way the music industry is going the amount of music being sold as hard copies is dropping more and more. This therefore opens the door to business like i tunes which are entirely online and distribute no hard copies. However music has become a very small side of HMV.coms revenue with the majority being generated through dvd and games consoles.

The intensity of competitve rivalry

 As mentioned previously in this post, and others, hmv.com has two main competitors(play.com and zavvi.co.uk) hmv and zavvi are not so competitive when it comes to price as they are both reliant on mainly store based sales, and with their stores more than likely being close together in every major shopping town. This tends to keep the prices similar in these two business and they try to compete more through innovation and marketing. Play.com on the other hand are an entirely online based business and compete alot more through price as they have less overheads to pay.

The bargaining power of customers

Straight up bargaining with hmv.com is never going to happen. Prices are set by the company and thats what has to be paid. Being unable to bargain online is over come by the ability to shop around through a vast range of suppliers, shopping around via the internet greatly increases your chances of finding the same product for a better price. This being the case prices is likely to be forced down through increased customer knowledge and price transparency.

Bargaining power of suppliers

Suppliers of products to hmv.com are the same suppliers that supply all other similar businesses. It would be unfair for these suppliers to charge different prices to different companies for the same product. This means that the suppliers could use this as a source of power over these businesses. As the companies cannot get these specific products from anywhere else they may find this source of power pressurizes them into operating in accordance with the suppliers wishes

 

week 4

Terms and Conditions

On reading the terms and conditions of HMV.com nothing stands out as being unreasonable or unusual. As you would expect from any sales website hmv.com clearly lets the customer know that HMV is liable for very little in the transaction between itself in the customer. Comparing HMV terms and conditions with its competition, Play.com, there are very few differences. The terms and conditions of play.com are easier to read and navigate. They have a lot more points than HMV but each point is quite simple and easy to understand. Play.com also has a point on data protection:

 

“Play.com will not pass on your personal or credit or debit card details to any third party except where an additional security check may be deemed necessary. We shall be entitled to process your data in accordance with the terms of our Privacy Policy”

HMV.com’s terms and conditions don’t seem to mention this but it is included in their Privacy Policy, which requires the opening of a different link. This is not a huge difficulty but play.com have made a point of bringing it to the attention of all customers who read the terms and conditions.

 

The returns policy of both sites reads very similar. Pretty much tells all customers that refunds will only be given when the goods have been received in the same condition as when they were sent. However Play.com reserves the right to make a 15% restocking charge for any goods which are not returned in mint condition or to refuse to accept such goods. This gives a little more room for damaged caused possibly by the currier services being used. HMV.com, according to their terms and conditions, will not accept these goods that aren’t in mint condition/condition they were dispatched and refund may be refused. All returns to HMV.com are at the customers own cost and risk. If orders are cancelled before goods have been processed, the amount debited from the account used to purchase the goods will be credited back to the same account ASAP or in any event within 30days of the cancellation date. Now, HMV and Play both have almost identical refund and return policies though in the event of a cancellation with HMV, you, the customer, must confirm notify HMV in writing. In the other hand cancellations made on play.com can be done so by email or by telephone, these two options are significantly easier that the sending of a letter. HMV.com processing their cancellations this way may infact be a little better for business as it may put some customers who were slightly disgruntled off returning their goods.

 

HMV.com follows strict security procedures when it comes to the storage and disclosure of information given to them by the customer when placing an order. This is to prevent unauthorized access or unlawful processing of the customers personal information. Customers information is kept confidential and stored on a secure server which is password protected and hidden from the outside world behind a firewall. HMV.com use encrypting software called SSL (secure socket layer) this is used to encrypt all of the customer’s personal information including credit card number and name and address. This means that the information the customer provides is converted into a code to be sent via the internet to HMV.coms storage where it is then decoded.

 

HMV.com uses cookies to keep track of customer’s visits to our web site. A cookie is a small file that can be stored by your web browser on your computer’s hard drive. HMV.com can use these cookies to recognize repeat users observing users behavior to compile aggregate data in order to improve the website for its customers. Cookies are used to deliver contents specific to your interest and to save your password so that you don’t have to re-enter it every time you visit HMV.com.

 

Cookies help to recognize when the customer next visits the website and note the advertisements displayed to them. This allows HMV.com to tailor the service provided to particular customer’s preferences.

 

 

 

 

 

week 3

HMV.COM

As a website hmv.com is relatively slow, infact 65% of websites load faster than hmv.com’s average of 3.2secs. This slower speed is probably due to the amount of graphics and promotion ads used one their homepage that i mentioned in a previous blog.

When searching for data on hmv.com i came across some remarkable statistics. hmv.com has a traffic ranking of 274,787 in the world according to http://www.alexa.com. That is a drop of 258,118 places in three months. This may not mean anything on its own but when compared to its main competitors today, play.com (globally ranked 909) and zavvi.co.uk (globally ranked 14,898 ) it is quite a shocking fact. Also in the last three months the number of global users who visit the site has dropped 94%! These figures show a significant struggle for hmv.com to compete in this market. However hmv.com.hk, the Hong Kong branch of the business shows i higher level of interest from users around the world. Hmv.com.hk isglobally ranked 3,639 a massive 271,148 places higher than the main site itself. More astonishingly 72.9% of hmv.com.hk users are based in the UK!

Global rankings in the last 6 months

Play.com have a turn over of $100-200 million revenue with employees numbers between 25-100,

compared to hmv.com $0-1million revenue with around 25 employees. As a competitor play.com seems to be miles ahead of hmv.com in the maket. it also has to be taken into consideration that both these sites are uk based.

The technology used when perchasing from a site like hmv.com is relatively common nowadays. Simple home computers with internet access are used to visit the site and navigate it easily. The site uses a “shopping basket” so when buying you can add multiple items to your shopping basket to save you from having to purchase one item at a time. When an item is chosen the website queries its database to see if the item is an stock. if so the sale will continue, if not a message will be displayed telling the uder that the item is out of stock and if/when it will be available again. Once an item is purchased the website then updates the stock level in the database. This is all done automatically by the website itself with no real human interaction apart from the user selecting the item. The user enters their postage and payment details which are process again automatically and stored temporarally. Once the payment is complete the order is passed through to the dispatches department who package the item(s) add the postage labels and post. Various pieces of software are used to create somewhat complex codes in order for the site to work as it does. this requires a team of IT professionals to maintain the site and keep it fully functional. After all if the users cant order products through the site then there will be no sales.

Due to the boom in mobile internet access thanks to technologies such as EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution), used on mobile phones such as the i phone and htc’c touch diamond, and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) internet is almost available everywhere we go.  Shopping via mobile phones would be by far the most convienient form of purchasing today. Certain things will need to be considered though, for instance, The website itself. Trying to open a website designed for a desktop web browser using a moblie phone will no doubt cause problems. A smaller simpler version specifically for use on a mobile phone would have to be devised. Also the payment options may have to be considered. Whipping out your credit card on a packed bus or train for 5mins while you try to type the numbers in isnt exactly the most sensible thing to do. Maybe an online account could be created with a limit so orders could be made without needing to enter payment details. Then accounts could be paid off another time or if the user has credited their account it can be automatically deducted.

week 2

THIS IS HMV

hmv.com is an online music store. Providing all the services and items you’d expect from a high street music store at the click of a button. The website provides a search box for the site itself and categorizes the stores item to make navigation simple and effective. Pictures and descriptions are provided for each item giving the user a better understanding of what they are purchasing. Advertising graphics along the top and side of the page give a consistent layout. The website also provides a shopping basket. This allows shoppers to buy multiple items at once. When browsing a customer can add items to their basket with out have to navigate away from the current page. Once shopping is finish the customer can take their shopping basket to the checkout and remove items or edit quantities.

 HMV music is part of the hmv group which controls hmv music stores and Waterstones book stores. The majority of turnover comes from stores located all across the world. The hmv website is just another channel to access the business.

 

The first HMV shop was opened in 1921 at 363 Oxford Street, and has developed into one of the world’s leading retailers of music, video and games. HMV prides themselves on providing an authoritative range and depth of selection that is superior to that of its competitors, including hard-to-find recordings and a large number of back catalogue titles.

Hmv was originally owned by EMI until 1998 when HMV group was formed. HMV group acquired HMV and Dillons from EMI and Waterstone’s from WH Smith. Waterstone’s and Dillon’s brands were subsequently merged and the HMV group grew from there. In 2006, the HMV group also acquired Ottakar’s and this has also been merged with Waterstones.

 

 

 

HMV Group operates from approximately 692 shops in 7 countries and total retail floor space of 3.6 million square feet (following the disposal of HMV Japan). For the full year ended April 2008, HMV Group had a turnover of £1,936.1 million (April 2007 £1,894.5 million) and an operating profit of £66.2 million (April 2007: £54.0 million).

 

 

HMV is split into hmv UK & Ireland and hmv international.

 

HMV UK & Ireland operates from 250 stores, as at April 2008. Sales in HMV UK & Ireland for the full year ended April 2008 were £1,079.0 million (April 2007: £932.2 million) and operating profit was £41.4 million (April 2007: £24.3 million). Music represents 30% of HMV UK & Ireland sales, DVD 46% and games and technology 21% (other related products 3%) as at the full year ended April 2008.

 

HMV International operates from 129 stores and a total 566,000 sq ft, as at April 2008.  HMV is Canada’s market leading music retailer sales in HMV International for the full year ended April 2008 were £231.6 million (April 2007: £215.1 million) and operating profit was £8.5 million (April 2007 £13.4 million). HMV Canada’s largest product category is DVD at 47% of sales for the full year ended April 2008, with music 44%, games and technology 8% and others 2%.

HMV operates from six stores in Hong Kong and two stores in Singapore, over a total 58,500 sq ft.

 

HMV and Waterstone’s employed on average 11,200 full time employees for the year ended April 2006 (HMV UK & Ireland 5,000; HMV Asia Pacific 1,700; HMV Canada 1,300; Waterstone’s 3,200).