HMV Closing Down? No, HMW Saved!

HMV on Oxford Street, London. Closed.
HMV on Oxford Street, London. Closed.

Breaking News Apri 11th, 2013: HMV in Chelmsford Saved!

Hilco have managed to save 2500 HMV jobs and we have now heard that Chelmsford’s HMV store is safe. HMV is out of administration.

 

Jan 14, 2013

His Masters Voice may soon be silenced after delivering music to the high streets of Great Britain for 92 years. The iconic high street record shop which dominated the market for many years may soon be about to play its final tune.

News just in – HMV are on the brink of entering administration, according to Andrea Felsted and Robert Budden reporting at the Financial Times online. 4000 Jobs at Risk.

HMV has been working with Deloitte, who in turn have been liaising with HMV’s lending banks, is likely to become its administrator. As usual, the cause of the collapse is a lack of cash flow. The credit crunch is still biting hard at the heels of high street stores.

HMV Will Not Be Accepting Vouchers

HMV have announced that they will not be accepting gift vouchers for payment, and have stopped issuing gift cards (source: BBC News, 15/1/13).

 

Update 21/1/13: HMV’s administrators announced today that there is enough cash in the pot to allow them to accept gift vouchers in their stores. Use them before it is too late!

HMV History

HMV was founded on 20th July 1921 when the Gramophone Company opened its first shop in London, on Oxford Street. It started to expand in the 1970’s and dominated the high street until Our Price and Virgin Megastores appeared in 1972 and 1976 respectively. In 2002 HMV floated on the Stock Exchange, leaving EMI with a small holding in the company. At its peak it had around 300 stores worldwide.

Credit Crunch and Supplier Woes

HMV’s suppliers, which include music labels, game-makers and film companies,  have apparently refused to offer a £300 million lifeline to HMV.

HMV is heavily in debt and its attempts to build an online presence on the back of its high street brand has failed.

HMV’s suppliers did help the company out a year ago when they bought a 5% stake in the business. However, it now seems that this was an investment that failed to pay any dividends for the investors.

People Prefer To Download

There is a continued move away from traditional media. People are now purchasing downloadable music online and storing on their home computers, mobile devices or the cloud. Many people who regularly buy music do not even own a CD player nowadays. Teenagers simply do not understand why anyone would by a CD when music can be stored on a drive.

The End of High Street Music

The closure of HMV would pretty much spell the end of music, films and games in the high street. Although HMV saw an increase in sales in 2009 following the closure of Woolworths, since then sales have fallen again as more people shop online. Also, the supermarkets continue to eat away the high street market share in most product areas.

HMV Stores in Essex

HMV has many stores across Essex and these stores are usually large and are therefore important retailers in town centres.

  • Chelmsford – Unit 3/4, High Chelmer Shopping Centre, 0843 221 0149
  • Basildon – Unit 22, East Gate Centre, 0843 221 0111
  • Colchester – 16-17 Culver Street East, 0843 221 0156
  • Harlow – Unit L4, Water Gardens, 01279 630360

If you have any orders with HMV it is advisable to get along to the store as soon as possible as if the company does go into administration shops could close down immediately.

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