ERA defends supermarket pre-owned push

The Entertainment Retailers Association has defended Tesco and Asda’s decision to take their first tentative steps into the pre-owned market.

Given the size and success of the pre-owned market, it is only logical that existing games retailers are expanding into the pre-owned sector alongside their new games offering,” ERA director general Kim Bayley told MCV.

If games customers have been educated into expecting a pre-owned option then every games retailer would expect the idea to be copied. Competition will always adopt successful strategies and this is one of them.”

Independent video games retailers in particular have long accused supermarkets of eroding what were once reasonable sales margins on software. Many now fear that this latest move could now destroy specialist games retail’s main surviving USP.

Most sectors of entertainment learnt long ago to live with supermarkets – they are part of modern life and the entertainment space (music, dvd, books, games),” Bayley added.

Without them sales of entertainment product would likely be less robust than now. Not every consumer has access to an HMV or GAME.

From an Era perspective Supermarkets have as much right to offer their customers a pre owned option as anyone else.”