DVDs outsell music for first time, says Virgin

Virgin Megastores defied the gloom in the entertainment market over Christmas, pushing its underlying sales ahead by 4.6% in the four weeks to December 30 and increasing its market share.

Its performance bucked the trend in the market which prompted pre-Christmas profit warnings from rivals HMV and Woolworths. Virgin said the figures exclude online sales, which surged 191%.

Simon Douglas, the managing director, said there had been market share growth across all main formats. “Despite all the talk of high street doom and gloom, particularly around entertainment with its rampant price deflation, I am delighted with our trading performance,” he said.

DVDs became the dominant format for Virgin Megastores, eclipsing music for the first time in its trading history. Underlying sales growth in DVDs was 24.1%, with its market share rising by 0.7%.