The Bookseller catches up with HMV's incoming CEO, Simon Fox, who has a hell of a lot on his shoulders in merging Ottakar's with Waterstone's, reversing declining share prices, and grappling with the current climate of the publishing industry.

But one thing Fox is confident the merged Waterstone's can do is compete with Amazon. "Waterstone's can compete with Amazon and exceed it, as Waterstone's has shops and an online business which will bring benefits to its business that Amazon does not have." He claimed that the "stellar attributes" in the Waterstone's and HMV brands would enable the businesses to "successfully differentiate themselves and to compete effectively through a variety of complementary retail channels."

Analysts were positive about the appointment. Seymour Pierce's Richard Ratner said: "The appointment of an experienced retailer is astute, given the highly competitive marketplace in which HMV operates. We also expect Fox to bring his experience of developing the Comet online brand to his new role as HMV has been a slow-starter in an over-crowded online channel." Christian Koefoed-Nielsen at Panmure Gordon said to the Independent: "I don't think he'll bring a magic bullet. He's a good operator with a fairly wide range of retail experience from a tough sub-sector but it would be a mistake to expect one man to turn everything around."