About this reportAbout the market…This report is essentially three reports in one as it covers three distinct markets, namely, book, music and video retailing.
The three product categories are often grouped together under the heading of “cultural goods” and while the three sectors have enjoyed varying degrees of success over the last five years, the products share certain similarities that justify our decision to include them in one report title.
This category as a whole showed growth of 8.5% between 1999 and 2003, within this, books showed steady growth of 13.4%, whereas picture and sound recording media (music and video) performed sluggishly overall, advancing by just 0.5% over the period.
The music and video sluggishness is especially bothersome considering the overall Dutch spending growth of 19.6% over the same period.
Booksellers in the Netherlands have been able to resist the encroachment of price competition, thanks to legislation which fixes prices on books for retailers for two years from the date of publication.
The negative growth in the picture and sound recording media categories was impacted by both the declining VHS market (although this has been to some extent compensated for by the growth in DVDs), and the growing interest in digital music.About Mintel’s research…Pooling together the latest market analysis, Mintel's new report offers you all the insight and inspiration you need for designing clever, creative and profitable business strategies in the Dutch market.
Use Mintel's research to:Develop your sales strategies to win share of developing markets Discover what consumers think about purchasing books, music and videos Switch Dutch book browsers, to book buyers Pinpoint market potential before your competitors Find out how to best reach key audiences with the most effective marketing communications Track the sales performance and trading strengths and weaknesses of the market’s leading retailers Measure market forecasts and build realistic business modelsIntriguing findings include…Internet shopping outperforms all other sectors in Dutch retailing, registering growth of 32% in 2003In the Netherlands, the breakdown of spending on audio products falls heavily towards the male gender, in 2003, 66% of spending on music products was by menData for videos shows that market penetration was highest in the 30-39 age bracket in 2003, in contrast to the music market, in which the 20-29 age bracket was the most significant in terms of purchases.