Brashs is gone. Virgin was replaced by Blockbuster. Blockbuster has been bought by Sanity. The city music retailer business is unpredictable at the best of times. However, in spite of all these companies going under, one city retailer has stayed in there. HMV. In fact, HMV can now be said to be an institution of the Pitt Street Mall. So, is there a magical secret? HMV usually sells its CDs at least a couple of dollars above the equally large store opposite. The whole industry has been baffled by the success of HMV's city store until a relatively unknown marketing student, Paul Dobson, single handedly identified the reason why HMV has not slid into obvlivion. Dobson, whose now complete thesis titled "stairways to heaven, escalators to HMV" is a work that has stunned the marketing community. Paul explains the concept as such:

"through extensive market research, I found that the combination of the downward escalator and the hypnotic TV screens as entry to HMV is made, puts the consumer into a kind of trance which compels them to stay in the store for exteneded periods of time. Coupled with the lack of an upward escalator, consumers face walking up an endles array of stairs and thus because of the great will-power needed to exit they are trapped for hours on end. Consequently, HMV is able to charge exhorbitant prices for it merchndise. It's a stroke of pure genius."

Dobson puts it so simply, it seems as though it's just "common sense", however, Paul claims that marketing is all about making things seem like "common sense.":

"I mean, it's common sense that someone would buy a Mercedes over a Hyundai (money permitting) because it's a better product. Yet, the reason why people think that Mercedes is better is because we marketing gurus tell consumers how to think. We convince them that Mercedes is a better car, with better workmanship, etc."

Laszlo Virag, special marketing campaigner for Impulse deoderants (he came up with that brilliant fan in the clothes idea), has spent the last few weeks studying Dobson's three hundred page thesis:

"I can't believe a person who has spent three years studying intensively in marketing has solved the HMV problem. I mean, who would have thought that an escalator going down without an escalator going up was the secret of HMV's success. With ingenious thinking like that, Paul is sure to go far in marketing."

In fact, HMV was so dismayed by the startling revelation, it launched a full scale attack on the 'escalators to HMV' thesis:

"The document is littered with inaccuracies and fallacies. The escalators going down are merely there to assist many of our customers who may in some way be disadvantaged in their mobility. They can use a number of our exits to get an up escalator... we just didn't get council approval for two full scale escalators within our shop. So, it is a severe mis statement to say there is no "up" escalator. As for the "entrapment" arguments... our customers do not find themselves entrapped. They love the set out of our shop, the wall to wall structure of easy listening sugar pop Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston/Boys to Men inspired CDs. If I were looking for someone to improve the sales of my business, I would certainly not hire Mr Dobson. With half baked ideas like that, I'm sure he'd be able to get a job as campaign director for the Liberal Party's GST package. I'd like to see how he could sell a package like that... oh yeah, CD prices WILL be cheaper under a GST... for us anyway."

But Dobson's thesis has caused a series of legal challenges by other music retailers. The ACCC is looking at whether HMV's one-escalator policy ("it's undemocratic and an infringement of human rights" says one dissident) is an uncompetitive practice. Sanity records is also suing for damages incurred due to the unfair advantage that the down escalator brings HMV:

"Surely, there should also be an up escalator. I mean, it's not as if there's enough room."

While the legal hassles go on, Paul Dobson vows he will continue to work on other non explainable problems that marketers for years have been trying to solve:

"I know I'm very intelligent and great, and I am almost head to head with my brother on the mini alcohol stakes, but I feel that I can go beyond the point of genius. People have been geniuses, but I am going to be more than that. That's why I'm taking up a role in the Liberal party election campaign. I'm sure I can convince poor to low middle income Australians that they will be better off under a GST. It's a lie, but as we have been telling the PM to keep saying over and over again... "It's good for Australia". It sure as hell works for Pauline Hanson. But I've given away my "I love Australia = Lots of money and votes" thesis... there's still a little fine tuning to go with that one."