Sainsbury's Acquires Global Media Vault
British supermarket giant Sainsbury's has announced the acquisition of digital media distribution business Global Media Vault for £1 million. The acquisition will support the retailer's move into the digital entertainment market following the launch of the Sainsbury's Entertainment website in November last year.
Global Media Vault is a white-label online digital entertainment platform which up to now has operated with Sainsbury's as its main client. Its digital database includes over three million music, film, and game assets for the UK market, all of which can be browsed, purchased, and distributed via web, mobile, TV, and kiosk applications.
Sainsbury's Group Development Director Luke Jensen said that the move represented a quick way to build a platform, and will enhance functionality and customer experience on the Sainsbury's Entertainment site. "Customers will soon be able to buy, rent or stream content from Sainsbury's", he added.
Sainsbury's Entertainment allows users to buy CDs, books and games online - but not, as yet, to download or stream content. However, with the UK entertainment market estimated to be worth £7.3 billion, and with the online market expected to double in value by 2015 (Verdict Research), it's an attractive segment for the major retailers.
Sainsbury's would appear to be following a similar strategy to UK market leader Tesco, the third largest retailer in the world, which already offers downloads from its Tesco Entertainment site. Tesco acquired a majority stake in video-on-demand service blinkbox in April .