LOOK & Listen, the 45-year-old music retailer, has been placed in “business rescue” — a sign that the local music industry is struggling with the same sort of threats that have forced global music retailers to shut shop.Despite having expanded into gaming, DVDs, electronics and accessories, 14 of Look & Listen’s 19 stores do not trade profitably.The reason isn’t hard to find: high shop rentals relative to turnover, the fall in music prices and a drop in profit margins. Factor in high rates of piracy and running a music store becomes a daunting prospect.While CD and DVD sales are still strong, Look & Listen was earning far less per item. It’s a story common to other media products: bookstores are facing similar pressures, while newspapers are battling to arrest declining circulation as online news becomes more prolific.Howard Lazarus, managing director of Look & Listen, said the plan was to “rationalise” some stores and continue with the good ones.Lazarus said the retailer was in tal...
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