HMV, the UK and Ireland’s leading specialist retailer of music, DVD and games, today announced the deployment of Multimap’s ‘Storefinder’ service on www.hmv.co.uk. HMV selected Europe’s leading online mapping provider because of its proven track record regarding the accuracy of its maps, the reliability of its services, and the positive feedback supplied by many other high-profile retailers* currently using Multimap’s services.

Steve Bailey, HMV’s Internet Commercial Manager said, “We are delighted to be working with Multimap to ensure that our customers can find their nearest HMV store quickly and easily. The maps are delivered at sub-second speed and are easy–to-read, which is a real value-add for our customers as they go about their busy, day-to-day lives.”

Visitors to www.hmv.co.uk click on the ‘Store Finder’ tab at the bottom of the homepage, and enter their street, town and/or postcode, or click on the UK map, to access a list of the top five nearest stores, with full address details, plus a map pinpointing their locations with HMV logos. Users can zoom in/out and pan N,S,E,W to adjust their view and, for additional details about a store of interest including telephone number and opening hours, they simply click on the logo/listing of interest. All maps delivered are content-rich, flagging up local points of interest, e.g., post offices, train stations, and post offices.

Steve Frost, head of sales for Europe, Multimap, commented, “In a recent survey**, it was found that multi-channel customers spend up to 50 per cent more than single-channel customers, so the more encouragement retailers give customers to shop across channels, the better. The provision of location information on retailers’ websites is a fundamental part of this; customers can research products online, use our services to find their nearest store, and proceed to make the purchase in-store. We are pleased that HMV has chosen Multimap to ensure that its customers are equipped with the information they need to shop across a number of channels.”

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* Multimap provides online mapping services to more than 800 business clients, many of which are big name retailers including Nectar, Argos, Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury, Focus Wickes, Robert Dyas, M&S and Ford

**What UK retailers with a web site offer. Source: Zendor, May 2005

About Multimap

Multimap is Europe's leading provider of mapping and location-based services. The company delivers more online maps, point-to-point driving directions and geo-spatial ("where's my nearest?") searches to more companies than any other supplier in Europe. All services are offered on mobile, PDA, kiosk, and interactive TV platforms and in multiple languages.

The public website, www.multimap.com, provides a range of free, useful services to assist with everyday life. Key features include street-level maps of Europe, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia; road maps of the world; door-to-door travel directions; aerial photographs; links to location information; and services such as hotel, restaurant and entertainment booking. The public site attracts over 8.6 million unique users, registers more than 160 million page impressions every month, and is one of the top 10 most visited websites in the UK. Multimap recently featured in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 league table of fastest-growing unquoted UK companies across all sectors, as well as in The Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 league of fastest-growing unquoted UK technology companies for the third year running.

 
About HMV UK & Ireland

HMV is the UK and Ireland’s leading specialist retailer of Music, DVD, Games and Related Products. The company operates over 200 stores in key shopping locations nationwide, equating to over 1million sq. ft. of trading space, as well as a successful online store at www.hmv.co.uk.

HMV’s very first store was officially opened in July 1921 by the celebrated British composer, Sir Edward Elgar on London’s Oxford Street. Since that time, the chain has become symbolised throughout the world by its iconic ‘His Master’s Voice’ dog and trumpet trademark.

HMV is dedicated to offering its customers authoritative access to the widest possible range of recorded Music titles, DVD’s and Computer Games across all formats.

HMV is part of HMV Group plc, which as of April 2004 operated 366 HMV stores in eight countries across Europe, North America and Pacific Asia as well as 193 Waterstone’s stores principally in the UK and Ireland. All of the Group’s operations, both in the United Kingdom and internationally, are wholly owned.

The Group was listed on the London Stock Exchange on 15 May 2002, having been formed in March 1998 through the acquisition of Waterstone’s from WH Smith Group plc and HMV and Dillons from EMI Group plc.