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Business News Retail
ERA generally upbeat at AGM despite continued sales declines
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 17 September 2010
Although record sales continue to fall in the UK, key players at the Entertainment Retailers’ Association AGM in London yesterday were generally upbeat, if only because the decline in music sales over here has been much slower than in most other territories, particularly the US of late.
According to ERA Chairman Paul Quirk, there are still lots of opportunities for entertainment retailers, including those on the high street, though he called on music, DVD and gaming companies to work with retailers to make their physical products more compelling. He also called for a review of the returns system currently operated in the entertainment retail sector, which he argued was excessively costly. Looking to the digital side of his industry, he said digital licensing deals needed to be simpler to encourage more new entrants into the market, possibly an indication that the retail sector would support any moves to introduce blanket licensing for digital.
ERA, of course, has expanded to incorporate digital-only entertainment retail companies, including streaming music services, and to prove such things are integral to the trade body yesterday Clive Gardiner from We7 became the first streaming service rep to be elected to the organisation’s board.
