HMV to roll out new look after Christmas sales soar

HMV chief executive Simon Fox said: "Having traded our trial stores through Christmas and completed customer research, we are working through our plans for roll-out."

He said that the store model had worked best at the original 8,000 sq ft pilot at Merry Hill, near Dudley. "Here, we have seen very strong like-for-like uplifts compared with the rest of the chain, particularly in product areas we are targeting for higher growth such as games, technology and kids DVDs," he said.

The interactive hub, where customers can use PCs and kiosks for entertainment social networking, online ordering and downloading, also tested very well, as did the gaming zones. All store openings in 2008 will adopt the next-generation format.

The next new-look store will open at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in March.

The major injection of new space will come this autumn, when a 14,000 sq ft, two-floor store opens in Liverpool. HMV is also considering how best to tailor elements of the Merry Hill format to smaller branches.

Brighton's Churchill Square store is being considered as the first smaller branch to receive a makeover. The retailer is working with Dalziel + Pow, the consultancy that devised the Merry Hill blueprint, on how this can be realised. The outcome is likely to be a lower-cost fit-out, allowing a faster roll-out.

HMV's group like-for-likes rocketed 9.4 per cent over Christmas and a successful final quarter is likely to lead to store managers and head office staff sharing a bonus of about 6 million.

Fox said that full-year profits should be at the higher end of expectations the consensus forecast was 48 million pre-update.

He said: "Our three-year recovery plan is beginning to bear fruit. Theres a full quarter to go but, in terms of morale, were in a completely different place".