HMV edges closer to the abyss

Despite all the brave talk when new boss Trevor Moore joined the company a few months ago, things haven't got better for HMV. In fact, they've got quite a bit worse:

[T]he terms of its bank loans were not likely to be met in January and April, placing the future of the 238-strong chain under threat.

HMV said like-for-like sales fell 10.2% in the 26 weeks to 27 October as its pre-tax loss narrowed to £36.1m, compared with £50.1m the previous year. The dismal results come despite reports that HMV has received £40m in financial support from its suppliers in a bid to keep it going over the festive period.

HMV shares crashed more than 40% in early trading on Thursday morning, to just 2.375p, giving the retailer a market value of just £10m.

Last year, it got a lifeline from record labels who feared a world without a music store. Now that stores like Primark and BHS are offering a rack of top 40 CDs in most branches, you might wonder if that was the best use of (apparently) 40 million quid.