Jordan O'BrienFor the first time in the company’s 86 year history, Tesco is to begin selling vinyl LPs following a successful trial earlier this year.
Vinyl sales still represent just 2% of album sales in the UK, but it’s the fastest growing format – even outpacing digital streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Tesco is not the first retailer in the world to catch on to the trend. Whole Foods in the United States has also made the decision to sell vinyl records this year, following similar moves from the likes of Best Buy and Barnes & Noble.
Vinyl sales at Tesco began in September as a limited trial at 55 Extra stores up and down the country. During the trial just one LP was on offer – Iron Maiden’s The Book of Souls.
The results of that trial were telling, with Tesco’s music buyer Michael Mulligan commenting: “Our trial selling vinyl this summer was a real success with all our stock selling out and this really proved to us just how popular the vinyl album format is again with music fans.”
Tesco is now offering vinyl LPs in 40 stores nationwide with the following albums on offer:
1. Coldplay – A Head Full Of Dreams
2. ELO – Alone In The Universe
3. David Gilmour – Rattle That Lock
4. George Ezra – Wanted On Voyage
5. Elvis Presley – 30 Number 1 Hits
6. The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
7. The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
8. Stones Roses – Stone Roses
9. Various – Guardians Of The Galaxy Soundtrack
10. Nirvana – Nevermind
11. Bob Marley – Legend
12. Guns’n’Roses – Appetite For Destruction
13. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II
14. Foo Fighters – Greatest Hits
15. Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA
16. Fleetwood Mac – Greatest Hits
17. The Eagles – Hotel California
18. Prince – Purple Rain
19. Radiohead – The Bends
20. The Specials – The Specials
With Tesco jumping on the vinyl bandwagon, installers can expect to see the format grow even further over the next few years. Thankfully it’s not too difficult to get a record player; after all, even Tesco has begun selling them.
In the high-end, it’s even easier to get a record player. Both Jimmy Fallon and Tom Cruise recently gushed over their 2-channel vinyl listening room, proving that vinyl’s popularity may not just be a passing phase.
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