Retailers: Holiday Sales Are 'Disappointing' So Far

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Dec 24, 2000 Source: http://www.billboard.com/daily/2000/1222_05.asp Submitted By: Bea Despite enormous recent sales for albums from acts such as the Beatles and the Backstreet Boys, the holiday spirit has been slow to hit music retail this year, Billboard Bulletin reports. "Despite some strong new-release titles, sales through the holiday retail season have proven to be a little disappointing," says Glen Ward, CEO of Virgin Entertainment Group (VEG) for North America. At the 1,370-store Musicland chain, sales "have been soft for music. Not horribly bad, but not great," says director of marketing Scott Levine. And sales at the Troy, Mich.-based Harmony House chain are "flat," according to VP of advertising Sandy Bean. One problem has been bad weather in much of the U.S. Levine says East Coast stores have been particularly affected; Bean says heavy snowfalls have hurt sales in the Detroit area. Despite this, a number of titles seem exceptionally strong. The Beatles' "1" (Apple/Capitol) is a top album at every retailer surveyed by Bulletin. "It has really, really taken off. I thought it would be a hot one, but I had no idea," says Dave Montes, GM of Tower Records' Greenwich Village outlet in New York. Also moving well at numerous chains are current albums by Creed, Shaggy, Dido, Faith Hill, and Charlotte Church. At Musicland and VEG, one surprise has been Sade's "Lovers Rock" (Epic). "Sade is doing better than expected and has more staying power than expected," says Levine. Retailers also cite big sales for the Eagles' boxed set "Selected Works: 1972-1999" (Elektra). Meanwhile, at Tower in New York, the big news is Legacy/Verve's "Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music." Montes says he expects to sell 200-250 copies of the jazz box this week alone. Backstreet Boys' "Black & Blue" (Jive) is proving a mixed bag. The title is among the best sellers at VEG and Musicland but has proven "disappointing" at Harmony House and the North Carolina-based Record Exchange chain. Also not selling up to expectations is Wu-Tang Clan's "The W" (Loud). In general, says VEG's Ward, this holiday season "has proven to be a tough climate to operate in -- particularly when surrounded by non-merchants looking to sabotage the marketplace by drastic discounting and loss-leading tactics." Adds Record Exchange president Don Rosenberg, "If the customer doesn't want to buy [a new release] for $9.99, he can burn a copy from his friends, or he can download it on the Internet. And that doesn't make for a healthy retail environment." -- Carolyn Horwitz and Wes Orshoski, N.Y Comment on this item. Next Item: Backstreet Boys to Give Mexico Concert in March Prev Item: Andrew Fromm Talks About B&B Tour, 'The Call'