German music retailers plan cooperative
20 German music retailers met in Fulda to discuss the establishment of a cooperative in the music retail sector. The groundwork for such a move was laid back in April of this year at the German music retail industry meeting in Frankfurt.
According to the GDM, the participants at the meeting voted "overwhelmingly" in favor of founding a cooperative. It was made clear in Fulda that the aim was not just to achieve purchasing advantages when ordering goods. Rather, the cooperative should focus on carrying out marketing campaigns in partnership with suppliers and ensuring that active music-making is further promoted overall. Ultimately, this should "create more market for the entire industry".
One focus of the cooperative will be to expand its activities on the Internet. Plans for a uniform database that can be made available to all cooperative members were presented. Questions regarding a core product range and formal issues such as the amount of deposits and member liability were also discussed. The next step is for a competence team to draw up a business plan including financial planning.
