Digital Stores Buck Music Retail Trend

As physical music retailers continue to disappear from the high street, Digital Stores - a leading direct-to-consumer online retail service provider - are proving that music retail still has a healthy future on the internet. The group today announced the re-launch of both their flagship website Recordstore.co.uk and the official online shop for legendary pop group Madness.  They also announced the appointment of Lawrence Kenny to the newly created position of Head of Store Management.Recordstore.co.uk, which sells selected CDs, vinyl, MP3s, books and accessories, now boasts a stunning new design, evoking the look and feel of a local independent record shop. The redesign also incorporates several new features including a new widget that allows music fans to read and display the latest news and releases from Recordstore on their blogs, MySpace and Facebook pages or other sites, and even a new Twitter feed.Since a live beta version was trialled in February Recordstore.co.uk has seen double-digit sales uplift, proving that design, concept, user experience and artist credibility can still trump mass marketing and free downloads.Steve Wheeler, manager of Recordstore.co.uk said, “The new site builds on Recordstore’s music-orientated philosophy, combining an indie aesthetic with the ability for fans to promote the site through their blogs and social networks.  It’s something that frankly few other retailers could hope to do, to have our customers out spreading the gospel for us.  Recordstore’s customers can feel that Recordstore has its heart in the right place, that’s the added value, and that’s why they keep coming back.”Digital Stores have also unveiled a brand new online store for the band Madness. Forming part of the band’s new website, the store is currently the only place where fans can pre-order a limited edition box set band’s much anticipated new studio album ‘The Liberty of Norton Folgate’ and will soon include merchandise and the band’s full back catalogue.The Madness store is just the latest in Digital Stores expanding portfolio, which includes online stores for the likes of The Beatles, Queen, Oasis, and The Prodigy. Overseeing all these sites will be Lawrence Kenny, who has just been appointed to the newly created position of Head of Store Management, reporting directly to Product Director Simon Coates.Said Simon Coates “The past six months have seen a major sea-change in how people buy.  As customers look at new ways to save money, e-commerce is becoming more important than ever, and we are determined to give our customers the best retail experience possible.In line with that, more and more music acts and brands are understanding the importance of having an online store that is run by an experienced e-commerce company like Digital Stores.   This means we’re going through a major growth spurt as we take on new, high-quality business, and we’ve brought in Lawrence to help us as the company expands.“Originating from a music retail background as a buyer for Virgin, Our Price and the Woolworth/EUK Group before becoming Buying Manager for THE’s Music Buying team, Lawrence has spent the past six years working in the marketing and product management sector for the likes of Universal Pictures, V2 and Telstar Records, managing campaigns for a wide variety of brands and artists across music and entertainment .Commented Lawrence Kenny “With the expansion of the business, the quality of the artists and brands we are working with added to the expertise and professionalism of the Digital Stores team, I am enormously excited about the potential for growth and improvement.  We will continue to innovate, improve our offering and services by working closely with our clients and suppliers to provide the best e-commerce experience to our customers.” www.digitalstores.co.ukDownload the PDF of this press release from here.