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Music retailers have admitted they are struggling in the face of plummeting profits due to increased download sales.
Sales at HMV and FOPP have fallen sharply with the expansion of the digital market, which currently accounts for 10 per cent of all music sales.
FOPP, which took over 67 of Music Zone’s stores after they went into administration in January this year, had to close its stores for a day last week and are no longer taking orders online. Chairman Gordon Montgomery has admitted the company is experiencing difficulties.
Sales figures at HMV are down by about half from 2006, despite the fact that the company annually shifts around two billion CDs and DVDs, according to BBC 6 Music.
Chief Executive Simon Fox said: "Our markets are changing profoundly. Entertainment is being generated and consumed in entirely different ways putting pressure on traditional retail space and traffic."
The chain is trying to address the problem by selling in-store digital downloads and continuing to expand its online business.
