Traditional music and video retailers are unfazed by the competition from Apple's newly launched online iTunes Store in Hong Kong.
HMV, the British entertainment retail chain, said its stores had continued to thrive despite the existence of various paid and free online music stores worldwide for many years.
'We've already moved on from just selling CDs and depending on music sales,' Emily Butt, the managing director for HMV in Hong Kong and Singapore, said yesterday. She pointed to its sales of books, DVDs, video games and hardware including media players.
Butt pointed out that the iTunes Store launch in multiple Asian markets was expected. The digital media store's regional operation had been limited to Japan, Australia and New Zealand since its 2003 launch.
'For HMV, we'll have to wait and see how the local market responds to this development,' she said. 'More than anywhere else in the world, people in Asia don't think they should pay for digital downloads.'
The iTunes Store was launched yesterday in 12 Asian markets, but mainland China and India - two huge markets where software piracy remain rampant - were excluded.
