Publisher boss lashes out at supermarkets

An MD of a major global publisher has told MCV of his dismay Sainsbury’s call for publisher’s to lower the price of games to better fit the discount expectations of consumers.

Sainsbury’s non-food MD Luke Jensen told MCV earlier this month that: This is a journey we need to take together, and if it’s not one we take together, it’s a journey that won’t happen. I’ve heard people in the entertainment industry complain about the fact that prices are being driven down, but the fact is that what is happening is happening. The customers are leading the charge, we have to follow.”

However, a major publishing exec told MCV in a piece examining the supermarket’s demands: The grocers played a key part in destroying value in music and DVD and I can’t believe they’d even have the cheek to suggest that we should want to follow suit to drive their share ambitions.

I hope all publishers can see the folly in this. Sainsbury’s needs to think about adding value to the category and taking a responsibility to support an industry which takes huge risks on its behalf.”

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