HMV in tune with the mainstream

Unreliable overseas fulfilment and unfriendly Websites will prevent Sanity.com.au and Chaos Music from joining the mainstream online music market, says HMV's managing director, John Hazell.

With HMV's online store launching in Australia on Friday, Hazell said most online consumers were intimidated by oppressive advertising, irrelevant "gizmos" and "flashing lights" on most retail Websites. Therefore, he said, HMV's key competitors, Sanity.com.au and Chaos Music, had made online purchasing difficult and only accessible to more experienced, "Internet-savvy" consumers.

"Consumers from the real world want to see something relevant when they shop online. They want to see familiar colours and graphics and things laid out in a similar manner to the real thing. If your dad, or anyone else walking down the street, goes into Sanity or Chaos, it's completely new. They've never seen this before," he said.

Chaos Music and Sanity.com.au were unavailable for comment.