Imagine a dog chasing a cat chasing a mouse. The latest takeover talk reminds us of that scenario, not that the company at the bottom of the chain is a mouse, in fact we rather like Ottakar’s.
Yesterday, HMV confirmed it has received a bid. The rumour mill was grinding away long before the HMV announcement, and it seems certain the suitor is private equity group Permira.
HMV is facing challenging times. It faces competition from the supermarkets and electronic music stores such as iTunes. As for its subsidiary, book store Waterstones, it faces a similar challenge, but this time the Internet threat comes from the likes of Amazon. It discounted like nobody’s business over Christmas, selling some books for less than it paid for them.
But reports of the death of conventional retail are greatly exaggerated. Sure Tesco et al, and the Internet companies pose a threat, but shopping remains a popular pursuit. In a society that uses the phrase “retail therapy,” it seems unlikely that High Street shopping will ever die out, or ever lose its appeal, as some seem to think.
And perhaps a good example of why shopping can be fun, lies with Ottakar’s. Stores in the chain we are familiar with offer a relaxed and enticing environment. That was why we were sorry to hear about the bid approach from HMV and cheering for the book authors when they clubbed together to try and stop the takeover. It’s too early to tell whether the HMV takeover by a private equity group will affect the Ottakar’s bid, but it would appear, that the rules have now changed.
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