Losses at Irish entertainment retailer Golden Discs rose by 77 per cent to €129,000 last year in the year to the end of June 2012, the company said yesterday.

This compared with losses of €73,000 in the previous year by Golden Disc Group Ltd.

The company’s turnover declined by 7.5 per cent from €10.7 million to €9.9 million over the same period.

Turnover
Golden Discs said turnover is expected to grow in the current financial year, which has just more than five weeks to run.

Management cited “competitive market forces” as the main reason for the deterioration in its financial performance last year.

"Aggressive pricing and margin deterioration was exacerbated by a very poor summer release schedule as a result of numerous sporting events such as Euro 2012 and the [London] Olympics," group managing director Stephen Fitzgerald said.

DVD sales
Golden Discs said CD sales declined by 16 per cent but noted that DVD sales experienced growth. This outperforms Chartrack statistics for Ireland, which suggest CD sales declined by 20 per cent and DVD sales were 16 per cent lower in 2012.

The retailer said “unrealistically high property costs” also challenged its cost base. This played a part in the recent demise of HMV in Ireland and Xtra-vision’s store closures.

Golden Discs has 14 stores in Ireland. It opened its most recent outlet in the Pavilions shopping centre in Swords, Co Dublin, last month and will open a new unit in Blanchardstown in Dublin next week.

It also intends to upgrade its online download store.