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HMV staff in line for 'bonus'

18.01.08

Over 1,200 store managers and back-office staff at Waterstone's and HMV are due to receive a bonus of up to £5,000 after the book and music chains reported better-than-expected Christmas trading figures, reveals the Telegraph.

As a result of the performance, UK store managers, supervisors and head office staff will share a bonus pot of £6m, the first bonus that the retailer has paid in two years.

Staff were not the only people cheering yesterday, after the group revealed what c.e.o. Simon Fox called its best ever Christmas. Its share price rose as analysts digested the surprise news. In a note entitled 'Not Doomed After All?', Nick Bubb, retail analyst at Pali International, upgraded his pretax profit forecast for the current year from £52m to £56m and said that HMV has seen an "amazing" turnaround.

The FT commented: Plenty of sceptics would still claim yesterday's 4 per cent rise in the shares was a dead dog bounce for the retailer and its trademark hound. That seems harsh. As other bricks-and-mortar competitors across the HMV and Waterstone's range tend their wounds (Currys, Woolworths) or refine their offering (WH Smith), the group seems better placed than many to be the last man standing on the high street.


Telegraph

Retail waterstone's Simon Fox HMV Christmas

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Comments on this article

By Clive Keeble

Better try and get a few more quotes from Paul S, betcha he's up to speed on this stock : today at 8.58am (last trade at time of writing) HMV shares were (again) 5.24% down. On Monday the shares were 9.18% down - it is not just traders "shorting" the stock.

18 Jan 08 09:00

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By Ron

In all the years he has followed the sector Nick Bubb has never been right about anything. He has always misunderstood WH Smith, HMV and all the other quoted companies. It's amazing he is still in his job.

18 Jan 08 09:08

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By Stephen E Andrews

That's great news for HMV staff, I'm very pleased for them. Being a music fan who likes to shop in real stores, I get more than a little fed up with people having a go at HMV. The flagship in Oxford Street is still a major destination and I get great service from my local store (Thanks Dave!). If people keep on slagging record shops, they run the risk of vanishing and the joy of flicking through racks of CDs and vinyl will be lost to us. The internet is handy, but serendipity that comes from real shopping is vital. Thanks also HMV, for getting hold of Fopp and even starting to re-open stores in cities they had vanished from.

29 Apr 08 08:05

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