Quite a few news feeds are reporting that HMV are on the brink of collapse again, for the second time in six years. As a former employee and one who went through the first administration I know how horrible it will be. The store I worked in was scheduled for closure, but was rescued at the last minute – by which time I’d found another job. A few of my friends still work in the store so I’m thinking of them in particular today.
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Tony Japanese says
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/28/hmv-on-brink-second-collapse-administration
davebigpicture says
A shame if it’s true. I questioned the viability of the business here a few years ago and got a bit of stick for being unecessarily gloomy plus Bingo Little made a good case for DVD sales being strong for the next few years. However, like many businesses over the last few years, their product lines can be easily found elsewhere, often cheaper. I haven’t bought anything in there for at least a year and browsing is often disappointing. Our local high street wasn’t that busy this year so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a major name fail after poor Christmas sales although I was expecting it to be Debenhams or WH Smith.
paulwright says
I’m afraid it is inevitable. My kids own no physical product at all – no CDs, no DVDs, no Blu-rays. nada.
As a mainstream proposition record shops are toast. Niche Boutiques (vinyl, curated content etc.) should outlive them – particularly if they are not run primarily for profit but as a (pardon me, I know this is offensive to the hardworking guys who run record shops) hobby business.
Last thing I bought from HMV was some Marley headphones for my son. It’s music adjacent, but you can get them from loads of places (including a portable stall just outside HMV). The box sets were appealing, but download/stream suits the way I watch programmes. The sales seemed to be the same CDs as were there in 2000 (Eagles Greatest hits etc.).
The only thing I can see as a survivable business is collectibles, raretities and special editions – which are better suited to the small indie shops.
My sympathies to anyone about to be laid off.
johnw says
I’m sure I would have said the same thing 6 years ago but I reckon they’ve done quite well to last this long. 6 years is a long time in the world of entertainment ownership.
I’m not sure that I’ve bought anything in HMV since I used up the gift cards I had last time they went under. Given that people see it as a very different company these days, I think they’ve done well.
The high street will be a very different place in another 6 years as well and I’m not sure enough people have accepted that. Its horrible being laid off but I don’t think shops (especially non essential ones like record shops) should be attracting any kind of public subsidy.
Mike_H says
Lots of shop workers throughout the country being laid off, as businesses feel the bite from online retailers.
Here in Watford we have a newly-opened large extension to the Intu shopping centre, within which the flagship retailer is Debenhams. Both companies are currently in the shit, financially.
johnw says
Up the road in Luton, the football club has big plans for a new ground. The very odd thing is that its supposed to be financed by a new out of town shopping area – the most often mentioned ‘flagship’ store is supposed to be House of Fraser!
I hope it’s a success…. as long as the club correctly stays in the shadow of the mighty Hornets!
Gatz says
The current company isn’t technically the same as the old one, which went bust. I know that to my cost as it took a chunk of my pension with it because I used to work for Waterstone’s which was part of HMV Media when I left (the pension is now under the governance of the Pension Protection Fund, which I understand means I will still get about 90% of what was never going to be a large sum).
Grim for those who work there, bad news for those of us who like to browse and buy in shops, but hardly unexpected in an environment in which even the shrinking amount of physical product sold is less and less likely to go through the high street.
fentonsteve says
If this means Fopp goes, too, it will be a shame. It’s the only major music shop left in Cambridge.
John Walters says
Yes. I spend many an hour in Manchester browsing ( and buying ) from Fopp.
Let’s hope there is some sort of rescue package.
fentonsteve says
Fopp are doing something right (music on the ground floor, perhaps?) – my 15-year-old daughter actually likes going in there and spending her pocket money on CDs, DVDs & books. She doesn’t actually have a CD player of her own, I have to rip them to her portable.
She mostly likes to go to Fopp with me. She holds up a CD she’s interested in, and I say “I’ve already got it”. I save her a small fortune.
bengwy says
I second this – they really know what they’re doing in the Cambridge Fopp in terms of laying out the stock in a way that encourages you to take a punt on the unexplored and unfamiliar. The range and depth of their back catalogue CDs and movies is also remarkable for a relatively small site. I’ve got friends who say that it’s the only reason they have to visit the centre of town at all, and other than two or three excellent specialist vinyl stores and a few charity shops there is nowhere else in the area that you could possibly browse through non-chart music.
There’ll be riots in the street if this one closes (or mass middle-aged disgruntlement, anyway).
retropath2 says
I remain pissed off that there was never a Fopp in Brum. A very brief presence in Solihull; I first visited the day after it closed. So we have HMV, Swordfish and a couple of fly by night tiddlers. Absolute crap really. (@moseleymoles : is Polar Bear still going in Kings Heath?)
fentonsteve says
Yep, I will be outside, loudly tutting….
fentonsteve says
Daughter reports today from Cambridge that Fopp has a closing down sale. Curses!
minibreakfast says
Not a closing down sale but a “clearout” according to my agent in the field.
fentonsteve says
We’re off to investigate tomorrow. Hopefully that Kraftwerk LP will be less than £30.
Gary says
I pity anyone in a field in this weather.
davebigpicture says
Worthing store just has a 50% sale on. No mention of clearance etc.
fentonsteve says
It was a disappointing “50% off selected items” i.e. stuff that was already in the sale, in the Cambridge branch of Fopp today. Kraftwerk LP still randomly £30. We both left having bought nothing.
Staffer told us they have several options, the worst part is the not knowing.
Rigid Digit says
When it was rescued last time, they spoke of streamlining and returning to “core product”.
HMV had diversified so far, I don’t think they know what they’re core product is.
They still have the cd and dvd range, but in smaller areas and dwarfed by books, T shirts, mugs and anything else cheap and gift-y.
I know they can’t truly compete price wise with on-line, but the browsing is a key part of selection and purchasing for me.
Fopp, Rough Trade and the revitalisation of the independent record shop shows there is a market for this.
Maybe further footprint reduction (the Reading branch is now about 30% smaller) and the reduction of “tat” might help
davebigpicture says
Brighton moved to a smaller store earlier this year. Unfortunately, I suspect they make better margins on the tat than on CDs or DVDs.
Rigid Digit says
Sadly, that is probably true.
Especially with the “buy this for two quid when you spend twenty” stuff
deramdaze says
The Truro branch seems to have tat, over-familiar items, and far, far too many DVDs.
However, because a visit is now such a novelty for me (about four times a year) I would usually purchase a CD … last time the 2008 2-CD version of Jethro Tull’s debut for £10.
Taking “Rock ‘n’ Roll” as an example, the CDs of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis etc. tend to be of the budget/out of copyright type rather than quality releases on Bear Family or Ace. I’m in the market for the latter, not so much so the former.
I suspect the same is true for all the various genres.
Rigid Digit says
The depth of catalogue is not there (and from a stockholding, cash flow tied up in stock, space required etc point of view I can see why), but the releases avaialbale do tend to be the “Buy 2 for £10” stuff, or cheaper end compilations.
You get the feeling their lords and masters see Supermarkets as the direct competition – and they are not always berating them on price.
paulwright’s point above about niche boutique and carefully curated collections versus high street presence is (and it’s hard for me to accept/admit this) the reality a luddite like me must face.
Rigid Digit says
I like the concept/existence of HMV on the High Street, but don’t visit enough to ensure it stays there. I cannot justifiably defend it’s existence, or rue it’s closure. if I don’t get my bony butt in there enough.
And with that … I’m off to HMV this afternoon (like my £30 is going to pull them out of the mire)
SteveT says
Sad but HMV ceased to be of relevance to me some time ago. Vast majority of my purchases are online however every time I visit a new UK town or an overseas City I make it a priority to search out the record stores. Fortunately there are still some around. Rough Trade in London is a must, Sister Ray less these days.
I am off to Stockholm next week and thankfully they still seem to have quite a few.
Stop selling anything but CD’S and music related stuff – discard the HMV brand, re-brand only as FOPP – open in major cities where they don’t currently exist ie Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, and Liverpool. Promote local bands and go down the Rough Trade route.
HMV aims were too grandiose for the current physical market.
Kaisfatdad says
Stockholm still have a few record shops but they are struggling @SteveT. You must visit Pet Sounds on Sodermalm. Skånegatan 53.
https://www.facebook.com/petsoundsrecords/
And then if you take the Metro to St Eriksplan, there are several very decent 2nd hand shops to browse around on the road towards Fridhemsplan.
Paul Wad says
I’m in a minority here then, cos I buy from HMV loads, and much more than from Amazon over the past couple of years. Their prices are almost always comparable to Amazon, often cheaper, and I have bought a lot of their exclusive Premium Blu Ray releases. Also, I’ve had a fair bit back via their Pure points. I was saving them up for another £50 voucher, but I guess I’ll be losing them now. This is pretty much giving Amazon the monopoly on CD/DVD/Blu Ray sales for most parts of the country, i.e. those towns without a decent independent record shop or anyone wanting anything not currently in the top 20/Daniel O’Donnell albums, which are all the supermarkets seem to stock.
Edit: Yep, unable to get onto the Pure HMV website to convert my points to the £30 voucher I had reached. Dagnabbit! Hopefully this also doesn’t mean the HMV exclusive Blu Rays of Key Largo and To Have and Have Not won’t be coming next week.
Andrew says
Their website has seemed slower and glitchy today but I was able to log in late morning and convert my points into a £50 voucher. Then went to HMV at lunchtime to spend it. They also accepted a £20 Fopp voucher that I got for Christmas.
Was able to cancel an online pre-order a short while ago too, as I assume chances of it being fulfilled are slim.
I was still regularly buying from them – a large percentage of my blu-rays cake from their 5 for £30 offers.
Fopp trips were limited to a few times a year when I could get through to Edinburgh or Glasgow or, rarer still, down to that London. Hundreds of my cd collection came from Fopp.
Sad to think it’s possible that today could be my last time HMVing and, worse, may never get to go Fopping again. When Fopp went under for the first time their shops just suddenly closed, leaving all their stock inside for weeks tantalisingly visible through the window.
Kid Dynamite says
Anyone got any good job opportunities for a(n ex?) record store manager in the West Country?
Bartleby says
The Fopp chain always seemed to be able to make money. Would a Fopp style offering work near you KD?
Wilson Wilson says
I’ve actually been buying more stuff from there recently, lots of recent releases are in their 2 for £15 offer, making it cheaper than Fopp or Amazon a lot of the time.
dai says
According to HMV the music sales have held up, it is DVD sales that have collapsed. I still buy the occasional Blu-ray nearly always at a discount and mainly of classic movies that I know pay repeated viewings.
Have always found the DVD sector somewhat curious. People watch a TV show then buy a box set of exactly the same content that they will maybe watch one more time. Then sold to Music Exchange or similar for pennies or donated to charity shops. Given that much of this stuff can be streamed, rented or bought as a download then there is really no market except as present giving. As many people no longer even have a player then the bottom is falling out of that sector too.
Paul Wad says
Like most in here, record collecting used to be my main hobby. My first day off after payday always used to be a trip to Manchester, beating the same old path round all the record shops. This has carried on to include videos, then DVDs and now Blu Rays. Even though I have recently bought a 4k TV I have absolutely no plans to start replacing the Blu Rays with 4k HD ones, as I have to draw the line somewhere.
My goal has always been to own the perfect collection and I think I now have everything I like in my stupidly large collection (with a particular emphasis on horror films). In fact, as my buying had to slow down because I had everything I wanted, I have stupidly continued to buy things I sort of like. That’s the stupidity of me, I just can’t shake the habit of wanting new things. It has slowed down though, as I have no more room to put things and I refuse to start storing things where I can’t see them. If I start doing that I might as well get rid of them. I am now down to only buying new Blu Rays that are either a big upgrade on the versions I have or are from my hitlist of films I really want to come out on Blu Ray (now down to around a dozen).
For the past couple of years I have been making a real effort’to watch them all, including all the extras and the commentaries. I generally watch around 6-8 films per week and listen to a commentary per week (although I’ve almost listened to all the better ones now). Recently, however, I have started watching films on Sky that I already own on Blu Ray, as I am able to watch them in UHD this way. I think this is the first step towards me eventually realising that I don’t need to own things any more. And at that time I will realise that I have a collection that is worth a fraction of what I paid for and, barring a few items, that my kids won’t want in the future. I think the hoarding mentality is going to die out with our generation. If the us of 20 years ago could visit the charity shops of 2030 we would have had a field day!
NigelT says
And to think there are people who are trying to make cassettes cool again…
davebigpicture says
I realised I finally wasn’t bothered about physical product when I used the download code from a vinyl purchase and didn’t play the disc. I will when I’ve replaced my stylus but it’s been months. I will still buy new releases by a couple of artists because I like to support them but I don’t need to as they’re on Spotify’ It’s hard to imagine me, 20 years ago, not wanting the physical product but times change and there’s no longer the need to spend a tenner on a CD with a couple of OK tracks and a load of filler. I’m looking at you, 90s bands, who had to use all 74 minutes of disc space, forgetting that less is more.
johnw says
I still tend to by (physical or download) as opposed to paying for a streaming service for several reasons, the most important is that I like to play music from a small, light MP3 player and not my phone so I need the source. If someone starts to make a a ‘satellite’ device (a bit like a smart watch but not a watch because I don’t like wearing a watch) then I may think again. I’m not convinced we can rely on a streaming service to always have what I want to listen to but I wonder if that really matters… I think that may be my hoarder mentality.
androo1963 says
Was in Glasgow city centre store last week & I couldn’t find the latest Van Morrison CD which is just pathetic. Their stock generally doesn’t interest me & I object having to trudge past the tat & DVDs to get to the stairs & down to where they keep the music in the basement.
I bought the Van CD in Fopp today. I’ll miss Fopp if it goes under with HMV.
dai says
To be fair it is hard to keep up with Van Morrison CDs these days …
androo1963 says
Yes. Absolutely exhausting.
ernietothecentreoftheearth says
I see that there is column in the Guardian saying HMV won’t be missed and that we have independent shops anyway. On the other hand, an actual independent, Resident records has tweeted taking a very different view, in essence that HMV played a key role in keeping alive physical product. I suspect that the latter view might turn out to be correct.
In any event, the reality is that physical sales have halved in the UK since 2010. Sales of CDs in the US have fallen by more than 90% since 2000. And CD sales are falling at three times the rate that vinyl sales are increasing. At some point artists must start wondering whether it’s worth making album length CDs or vinyl records if they are only going to sell in relatively small numbers. At which point one wonders what independent shops will have to sell, at least in terms of new stuff.
Arthur Cowslip says
I saw that column and thought it was extremely sniffy and snobbish and totally misjudged! HMV helped kill physical record shops (which is what it is implying)? What rubbish!
And okay, little independent shops are good, but we also need somewhere big to browse in. The article is full of praise for Mono in Glasgow, but has anyone actually been there and bought something recently? Confusing layout, “hip” and obscure categorising (“electronic music 70s to 80s”??) and overpriced. It’s not a pleasant shopping experience. (I laughed out loud at the article’s defence of Mono, saying you could buy a locally designed cloth bag – is that meant to make me shop there?? Arts and craft tat like that?)
There was also a sneering tone to the article, suggesting that “real music fans” wouldn’t shop in HMV as it is all mainstream stuff. Well, most of my collection is “mainstream” stuff, bought from HMV, Our Price, Virgin, etc. Are Paul Simon, Beatles, Floyd, etc no good just becuase they are “mainstream”?
Arthur Cowslip says
Oh, and the writer also praises Fopp, seemingly unaware it’s owned by HMV!
Sitheref2409 says
It was an interesting choice of writer.
According to another of her articles recently, she is homeless.
Mike_H says
Maybe she can squat an empty HMV, after they’ve all closed down.
Rigid Digit says
Music sales continue to decline, but at a lesser rate than DVDs and Games.
Maybe there is some hope for smaller music-only (with limited DVD) stores like … Fopp
I’m clutching at straws here, but a smaller presence with decent stock and knowledgeable staff might be a way forward
NigelT says
Places like HMV used to be somewhere you went to browse and discover stuff because they had everything and they were not just a shop to buy things, if you get my drift. All of us now browse online, get information online, and mostly buy online because that fulfills that need – visits to HMV are depressing traipses past TV box sets, chart CDs and rubbish record players to get to a few racks of anything potentially interesting.
Freddy Steady says
Yep. Used to work for Virgin in direct competition with HMV on the high street in a Northern City They were know for a great back catalogue. That’s not that long ago…maybe JUST 15 years..
Tiggerlion says
In Warrington, HMV, and the town centre generally, was pretty busy today. I bought Saucerful Of Secrets (again, this time 2016 mix). Down the road, there is an Amazon warehouse, employing loads of people and paying really good wages. Pity the tax system is unbalanced and online retailers enjoy significant advantages compared to high street retailers. HMRC needs to catch up fast. Perhaps, Brexit will help?
Colin H says
Last time I was in one was months ago, when the Roxy Music first album deluxe set & 2CD edition came out. I went to the Belfast HMV – Belfast’s only decent music store, Head, having gone bust literally overnight not long before – to buy the 2CD version. The crap was on the ground floor but the escalator to the first floor (music) was broken so there was this palaver of telling the g floor staff what you wanted, phoning up, someone coming down in a staff elevator… I was in the horrifying position of talking to staff who had simply never heard of Roxy Music, plus a shop that was barely fit for purpose. I felt like a quaint has-been asking for a Bessie Smith 78 in a funky record store in the 70s… except not: this was staff in a high street store whose only advantage over online retailers could conceivably have been quality of service. I was never back. Good riddance.
KDH says
Disappointing to hear you say good riddance to the chain over one not great incident in the Belfast store, Colin. The store is, I think, due to celebrate it’s 25th year in Belfast in 2019. Full disclosure – I used to run that store back around 15 years ago, but I have had no ties to the chain since 2013, and very few of the staff there now were with me back in the day. However, it sounds like they did everything to try to accommodate you – if they had no interest in helping you, they would probably have told you to come back when the escalators were working again (having worked for several businesses with escalators, they break all the time, it’s not unique to HMV Belfast – this is not the fault of the staff). Not sure what was going on with the lift, but it was installed for disabled and non-disabled customer use, so would not normally have been a staff-only lift (there was only one – I remember the hardship of installing it in the run up to Christmas many years ago – and I don’t think they put in another one). We can agree that not knowing Roxy Music is unacceptable, but if I was being charitable, the chain did hire people who were specialists in different areas – music, specialities music, film, TV, games (at one time, there was even a classical buyer), so it’s possible you may have got staff who were not music specialists. Full disclosure again – I ran the store, but knew little about games – I would have seemed almost as clueless on big games titles back then as the staff you dealt with on Roxy Music, let alone catalogue. As I say, their lack of knowledge was unacceptable, but “horrifying position”? Really?
As I say, I know very few of the current staff, but “good riddance” to people losing their jobs straight after Christmas is not on my list of thoughts. The loss of the chain (assuming it goes) will I fear have a much greater knock-on effect to the world of physical music than the removal of the chain from the high street.
And finally, and everyone’s entitled to their opinion of course, but to imply Head (which I too miss) had a better range of music than HMV is frankly nonsense. The depth of catalogue in HMV was surprisingly strong last time I was there (though I admit, I was able to get up the escalator to check it out when I visited).
Freddy Steady says
Fair points all those @kdh
I used to work for one of your main competitors in a big Northern Town and you were known for your depth of stock. We too had Specialists (deffo a classical and world music. And metal. ) and I too had very little knowledge (or interest!) in Games despite running the dept and also the range back cat, which was my first love. We also had lifts that periodically broke down. It was good fun until Christmas and I grew old. Hard work too. The public were generally ok, sometimes lovely, sometimes not. My store closed down too which was hard even though I was ready to move on. All that hard work, love and knowledge ultimately gone to waste.
Pretty sure Colin isn’t saying good riddance to the staff, just the experience.
KDH says
@freddy-steady I definitely don’t miss Christmas at the coalface of retail – it’s often quite miserable, and the stress of seeing your shop getting wrecked in those two weeks up to the Day, when each day’s trade is like a week in March condensed, is tough. I think you and I both know that the realities of entertainment retailing were not what people imagined – my starting gambit in most interviews for staff was “Have you seen “Empire Records”? You have? Well this is nothing like that!”
I was lucky that I was able to get a head office job having realised that I no longer wanted to do what I was doing, and there I stayed until being made redundant 10 years later, so I know how painful that experience was (as you clearly do too) – I think that’s why the “good riddance” comment really rankled with me – I’m sure it wasn’t directed at the staff too, but you can’t lose one without losing the other.
Freddy Steady says
@kdh
Nope , I don’t miss it now either (the daily trashing of the store at Christmas yuk. No matter how many staff you had it remained trashed) but it was fun, mostly, at the time. A young persons job mainly but young people who had knowledge and enthusiasm. And somehow pretty much you all got on, the classical experts, the dance experts , the till bunnies, the temps, the assistant managers, the buyers.
Didn’t do the Head Office thing, would have meant a move to London but glad I did it. Times changed and I grew weary, that’s all.
Tony Japanese says
I couldn’t agree more @KDH. I worked in one of the smaller stores for about six years. We had one person responsible for the music section (me), one for the DVD/Blu-Rays and one for the games. I knew the music section like the back of my hand, and could generally tell you what we had in even if I didn’t necessarily know what it sounded like. Having to go round the store every morning replenishing stock certainly helps you remember where things are.
I have a limited (and that’s been generous) knowledge of film and games however, so I’m sure I’ve put some customers in the ‘horrifying position’ of having to explain who William Friedkin is though.
KDH says
You might enjoy this @tony-japanese & @freddy-steady – http://www.getintothis.co.uk/2018/12/hmv-was-a-place-for-open-minded-obsessives-why-the-guardian-are-so-wrong-about-the-music-giant/
I worked with Ian in Liverpool for about 3 months during my training period when I joined HMV in 1995 – top bloke. I think he’s completely correct about the Liverpool store – starting there, having only visited HMVs previously (I lived in relatively small Northern Irish towns up to this point) was like entering another world. His riposte with this article to that dreadful Penny Anderson piece in the Guardian is right on the money.
Freddy Steady says
@kdh
Yep, saw this when it popped up on Spaceberk. Hats off, excellent piece. Clearly heartfelt.
The people I worked with cared about their sections and knew their stuff. All that knowledge and love…gone. Well, gone from the High Street.
@tony-japenese. You’re right , you just got to know your section didn’t you. Sleeve-checking, cleaning, making dividers, all was right with the world when that was done.
Arthur Cowslip says
Thumbs up, great article. Thanks for sharing.
NigelT says
Thanks for the link to the article – a great riposte. I guess most people know HMV from its latter days as a chain, but HMV to me was always first and foremost the original Oxford Street store. This was a Mecca for us living in London in the 60s as they (reputedly) had EVERYTHING….every record…I would get shivers as I walked in through the doors on my forays to the West End knowing I was in the presence of EVERYTHING, You would strike up conversations with someone browsing the same section….have you heard this?…you must buy this!…and so on. Then home on the tube with your precious cargo, devouring the sleeve notes. Happy, wondrous days….
Ian S says
As I don’t come on here as often as I used to, it’s very odd to do a bit of catching up over tea and find out I’m being spoken about 😀 And so nicely as well. Thanks for the very kind words, I’m going to go back to trying to figure out who KDH and ReadyFreddy are, as I obviously know you
Kid Dynamite says
I knew that I (used to) know you in real life @KDH! (I’m the English guy who came over to manage the Henry Street store in Dublin about fifteen years ago)
KDH says
@kid-dynamite – DP? – I remember you well – people used to think I had an encyclopaedic knowledge of music,, but you put me to shame! Small world.
Kid Dynamite says
That’s me. Hope you’re doing well these days.
Colin H says
Fair points, KDH. Yes, I was perhaps uncharitable there – and I certainly don’t wish redundancy on anyone. Yes, the staff I was dealing with were certainly courteous but it felt like a protracted car crash – I had to tell one person (who had never heard of Roxy Music) what I wanted, she then told her boss (I guess), who also had no idea what I was talking about, and I had to explain that there was a highly publicised deluxe edition box set of their first album out and I was after the 2CD edition… a couple of other staff had joined the conversation by then, none of whom had heard of Roxy Music, and then the second guy rang up to the first floor, having checked that indeed they had one 2CD copy on their system, and explained it all again.., We waited around for ages, rather awkwardly, and the first floor guy came down in the staff-only lift with the 2CD.
Nobody was actively dismissive towards me, but it honestly felt like I was some bumbling old fool who’d come in to tell war stories to hip youngsters who were at best politely baffled and tolerant. It was a strange experience, and it meant I never went back – I don’t care to feel that way. I had gone in, I felt, for a *mainstream* purchase – not an obscure jazz release – that was probably also being racked out in Sainsbury’s at the time. I’d made a conscious decision to give my cash to a bricks & mortar store rather than amazon. But I felt that it was no longer a place for me.
As I said above, in these times, the only thing a street store has to compete with online is service. My service, while not discourteous, was simply not fit for purpose, in my view. If a customer ends up feeling disenfranchised there has to be something wrong. I think I was unwittingly witnessing the collapse of the HMV/high-street record store business model – young, unknowledgable staff with ageing customers who end up feeling like has-beens by asking for ‘old’ music that the kids haven’t heard of.
Re: Head – honestly, the depth of stock in the Belfast store was much better – a huge amount of jazz, for instance, plus a terrific amount and breadth of new vinyl and a terrific range of DVDs (a load of BFI titl;es, for example) but much less of the CD tat end of things that always seemed to be racked out on the ground floor of HMV (Eagles best-ofs, 3-for£10 stuff…).
But maybe they weren’t quite specialist *enough* to survive – they were somewhere in between a specialist store and a HMV-type place.
NigelT says
I get where you are coming from @Colin-H – surely this is a by-product of having to deal with a huge age range of customers and over 60 years of popular music, not mention the longer tail of jazz, classical, blues, folk and what have you. It is maybe shortsighted to have no staff who can cater for more of this and I’m not making excuses for them,but is it reasonable to expect around half a dozen 20 or 30 somethings (from what I’ve seen in Exeter) to know about a band who released their last album in 1982? The old West End mega stores like Virgin, HMV and Tower could have the sections and the staff, but these HMV stores were neither fish nor fowl – not small enough to be niche and not big enough to cater for anyone other than civilians.
Colin H says
I don’t think I expected staff to be all clued up on 70s music – but I *did* expect them to be aware of music releases that were being heavily reviewed and advertised in mainstream music mags. All those full page ads in Mojo etc. clearly hadn’t crossed the paths of the staff at HMV Belfast. I think that’s the point where the retailer is at fault – for somehow not having staff aware of (or ENSURING that staff are made aware of) what the heavily promoted/advertised music releases (be it by Vera Lynn, Roxy Music or someone from the 90s/00s) are in a given month – lest anyone come in and ask for it.
Bartleby says
My name? J R Hartley.
Colin H says
Ha! 😀 I must admit, I was thinking of JR Hartley while typing all of the above.
Bartleby says
If only old JR had had the internet.
Tony Japanese says
@Colin-H I don’t know how big the HMV store you visited is but the one I worked in was one of the smallest in the company and I wouldn’t always know all of what had been released that week – especially new films.
What the staff you encountered should’ve been able to do is use the Track system (do they still have that?) to at least search for the Roxy Music CD you wanted. A quick check would’ve told both you and them whether they had in stock and where it was. I’m baffled that they didn’t do this.
Colin H says
They did eventually, but not before I’d wished I’d never asked…
The Good Doctor says
The way people shop and what they buy has changed at such a clip, but the government expect the same amount to be raised in rates, and the landlords who own shops have carried on charging the same rent as if nothing had changed since 1990s. Unless they want town centres full of empty units and coffee shops the whole system needs a shakeup. If big retailers go down, nobody is waiting to snap up the leases on the stores they’ll vacate, so then what?
Trouble with HMV is, music these days is more and more something you buy for yourself. I’d have love to have gifted CDs or Vinyl this year but most close f&fs stream everything.
The increasing price of SDE box sets hasn’t helped either. The HJH Whiter Album set was taking the piss…and anyone fancy New Order’s first LP in a 4 disc box set ..a snip at 120 quid.
I’ve browsed and shopped in HMV and Fopp this year (both very well stocked) so I’ll miss them but there are less people like me who prefer to shop offline. There will be a knock effect for the supply chain too, so losing HMV is bad news for the industry as a whole, if distributors go down that’ll affect indie shops too.
Bottom line is music still sells, some of those HMV shops still turned a profit so I think if HMV goes, another smaller music chain may emerge, but the days of music as a major high street retail thing is over because big high street chains don’t do ‘niche’
Bartleby says
I was one of HMV’s advisers for a number of critical years around the change of the millennium. I had busted a gut – and burnt various career bridges – for the opportunity to join the advisory team, having felt a sense of loyalty to the brand as a long term customer. Imagine my disappointment on discovering that the people at the top of the business cared far more about football than music or films. I became accustomed to a board room of blank faces as I outlined options for the company drawing on my experience as a buyer of their product.
As a customer, they long ago lost me to Amazon. I don’t mind a small price differential for popular products in-store, but back catalogue, where most of my purchases have always been, was either absent or at some ludicrous price point. You’d have to be completely unaware of the internet to be willing to pay those kind of prices.
I was surprised they didn’t roll out more Fopps. The Fopp business was always inherently profitable, the back catalogue pricing was usually reasonable and people seemed to respond to the offer. My guess would be that they didn’t believe the Fopp offering worked in larger stores and the fatter margins in DVDs kept their heads in the sand over the rise of Netflix and streaming, just as it had been in my time over the rise of Amazon.
Bargepole says
As has already been pointed out, high street stores are hamstrung by huge city centre rents, negotiated when things were still thriving, and outlandish business rates based on now woefully overstated property values. However, the music and film industries need to think if they value having a high street presence in town centres to showcase their products, not just new releases but also back catalogue. Maybe it would be worth their while and in their own interest investing or supporting HMV in some way?
Kid Dynamite says
It’s not just showcasing. Since 2013, HMV has spent over a billion pounds buying stock from suppliers. If they go, a good proportion of that money is going to go out of the industry altogether and there’ll be some big holes in more than a few balance sheets. Not only that, if HMV goes all your lovely independent record shops are screwed as well. Labels just aren’t going to spend thousands on recording, manufacturing and promoting a record in order to sell a hundred copies across twelve shops, and so that record will just never come out physically at all. Bleak times, unless you’re an audacious parasitic tax dodging tech bastard.
dai says
In Canada we lost HMV about 3 years ago. Most of their stores in malls were taken over by the Sunrise chain. If you enter one of those stores then it is just like going into an HMV, possibly a larger vinyl selection. Everything is overpriced, I have picked up some vinyl when it is 50% off, but I would guess that their normal price is probably 30% above Amazon.
https://www.sunriserecords.com/
Stores never seem to be busy, I have no idea how they are surviving and I give them maybe another 18 months. They are possibly in malls with lower rent and maybe have some sort of deal to be there for a few years.
Chrisf says
There’s an article in the Times today that says the fund that bought them last time took out $50m in “fees”. If I understand the article correctly then they actually made an operating profit, but these fees led to a pre tax loss (and hence no corporation tax).
I don’t really understand all this financial jiggery-pokery, but somehow seems wrong and all too common – funds coming in an making a shit load of money on companies going bust.
davebigpicture says
I’m by no means a bankruptcy expert but, having been bumped a couple of times by non payers, I’d say the whole system needs an overhaul. Allowing former directors to buy back assets in advance of notices going out and reopen the next day should be outlawed. This is supposed to preserve jobs but is often abused as a way of shedding debt and avoiding paying legitimate invoices. The other problem, which means that creditors get next to nothing, is the system of liquidators charging huge fees while selling assets they neither know, nor care the value of, for buttons.
These days, it’s money up front if we don’t know you and never give credit to any company trading as Phoenix or Firebird. Not foolproof but it’s a start.
Bartleby says
I haven’t seen the article, but HMV has long been funded by high risk – and therefore high (often guaranteed) return debt. The huge amount of money you need to buy – and rescue – a chain of this size has to come from somewhere and the only people who will lend money to such a high risk venture will always demand a rate of return which reflects the risk they’re taking.
fortuneight says
The article was certainly pointing the finger at Hilco, HMV’s owners (well, the sub ed was, “Vulture fund Hilco Capital took £48m from ailing HMV”). They have previous form, having bought the department chain Allders, which they liquidated after dumping the pension plan on the protection fund.
However, the truth lurks in the detail. It seems Hilco set aside the fees due in the last 2 years (making the headline inaccurate) and also waiving loan interest, having extended £60m in loans. The fees are high for sure – it’s thought Hilco paid around £50m for HMV although the actual figure hasn’t been amde public – but as Bartleby says, it’s a high risk market. It’s similar in football – owners buy into the club but then extract a sizable premium in return. If their venture was less risky, cheaper capital would be available. The sort of asset stripping that seems to have happened with Allders is deplorable but this doesn’t read the same.
HMV has fallen between two stools. Undercut by Amazon who can carry a much bigger inventory, carrying a physical product that increasingly fewer people want given Spotify and Netflix. Most of us grew up with physical product as the only way you could watch / listen / read, but for the following generations ownership and portability is more popular. Maybe more convesrions to the Fopp format offer hope (better prices, selective inventory) – I hope for the sake of the staff this is possible.
retropath2 says
Adverts all over telly tonight for HMV sale (ends 11/1/19)…..
retropath2 says
And they have a terrific choice in the 2 for £15 pages, most of the AW best of year seem to feature, if not necessarily all the Duco01 outliers. Q for @kid-dynamite: is it “good” or “bad” that we support HMV by buying or does it make no difference, thinking more of the staff than necessarily the brand? Will a successful sale buoy interest in a lifeboat?
Kid Dynamite says
SPEND SPEND SPEND!
minibreakfast says
Had a nice trip to HMV Ipswich today (once we’d found it – it had moved). There were plenty of customers, including lots of youngsters browsing the vinyl. I bought Young Fathers, Idles and the new/old Coltrane, doubling my ‘new music’ purchases for 2018 in one fell swoop.
It was nice to see a lot more new releases on vinyl. Before it seemed like 80% reissues/dad music in there.
Arthur Cowslip says
Vinyl, yes….. for £30 or something ridiculous… I wonder if that many people actually buy it?
minibreakfast says
Two of those were £17.99, so no different from anywhere else really. The Coltrane was £22.99. Didn’t see any outlandish prices, but perhaps that’s because I wasn’t browsing Beatle records.
fentonsteve says
In Fopp last week, Pale Waves double 180g was £13, Lo Moon double was £16, Primals Memphis double was £23, one Kraftwerk (possibly Man Machine) was £16… and one (possibly Trans Europe Express) was, yes, £30. No, I didn’t buy it.
johnw says
So it seems people still want to browse. Does that mean there’s an opening for some sort of VR app? Were could flick through the racks with our headset on. There would be no stock restrictions and it would double as a listening booth. No reason why there shouldn’t be real people to chat to either. I know it’s not the same as a real shop but we’d be able to get there more regularly and we wouldn’t need to deal with other shoppers either!
Arthur Cowslip says
Hmmmm, it’s just not the same though, is it? I can’t see anything replacing the sensation of just browsing aimlessly round a record shop, finding yourself in sections you’d never considered before.
johnw says
Nor can I but it’s increasingly looking like the alternative is nothing at all. It would also mean visiting more often. I can remember back in the mid 70s in Watford there were only two smallish record shops. For a decent selection you really needed to travel into London for a virgin shop or the big HMV on Oxford street. It seems we’re moving back in that direction and VR may be a partial solution.
Mike_H says
When I left Watford in ’72 it was reasonably well-provided with record shops IIRC. When I returned in late ’84 it was not. Later in the ’80s there was a half-decent Virgin shop in the shopping centre (a decent jazz & classical section in a separate sound-isolated room but never a member of staff in it) but for anything really left-of-field it was necessary to go “Up West” and visit HMV or Virgin in Oxford Street (Virgin had an amazing Jazz section), or Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus, who seemingly had everything ever available anywhere.
johnw says
When I stated buying albums in around 1973/4 there was one very small record shop in the town centre (Harum, up by the pond…. but I don’t think it was called Harem at the time). There was a floor of WHSmith dedicated to records which I used to visit with my dad who was a classical collector and then there was Boots which also had a big (very mainstream) selection…. and of course Woolies. By 1977 there was pretty much only one shop stocking the latest punk releases and that was outside the centre in St Albans road. Our Price didn’t arrive in the town until around 1980/1.
davebigpicture says
Wasn’t there a Harlequin Records?
johnw says
Ah yes! That’s what Harum was previously.
davebigpicture says
Other people are one of the reasons I don’t like high street shopping.
Gary says
High street shopping is one of the reasons I don’t like other people.
ernietothecentreoftheearth says
Meanwhile, the BBC reports today that CD sales fell 23 % in 2018. Vinyl sales flattened out with a 1.6 increase. The big CD sellers were things like Now that’s what I call…., Star is Born S/T and George Ezra. Ezra and the Arctic Monkeys were the two contemporary records in the top 10 vinyl sellers.
johnw says
The inference of most of the reports at the end of 2017 was that vinyl sales would be off the scale by now. It was surely only going to slow down again. Having said that, I’m surprised the CD drop is so marked. I wonder if there’s any one change that trumps others, eg Lack of big releases, Bigger take-up of streaming subs, higher download sales.
Tiggerlion says
Streaming has gone stratospheric. Downloads are actually falling. There is a graph partway down this article:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-46735093
Bartleby says
I’ve spent thousands on vinyl in the last couple of years – one of those saddos who’s rediscovered the format and in doing so, started listening to music more intently and to greater reward.
But I’m not a mug and ‘sticker shock’ at HMV has meant that maybe £100 of that spend has been at my former favourite store.
The scalping nature of the prices, the overcrammed racks of jumbled and seemingly random stock choices tends not to encourage a repeat visit.
Native says
They actually sell CDs in The Pound Shop now! Albums that are between £8 and £14 in HMV.
Rigid Digit says
I believe they are from Music Magpie, and if the one’s I spied in a pound shop are anything to go by they are a load of guff they can’t sell online
davebigpicture says
Mike Ashley of Sports Direct fame is reportedly interested in buying HMV
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46940238
I’m not sure this is a good thing although anything that saves jobs should be considered.
fentonsteve says
We’ll be able to choose anything we like from a catalogue of Blue Is The Colour, Ossie’s Dream, This Time We’ll Get It Right, World In Motion, etc.
davebigpicture says
“Shoots self”
Rigid Digit says
The best record shops are the small slightly disorgsnised ones.
Looking at Sports direct, HMV could become a big disorganised one.
A case of “stack em high and sell em cheap”.
And was there ever resolution to Mr Ashleys employment practices?
The Good Doctor says
Went into Fopp and HMV on Friday. Notably neither had any new releases on display at all – certainly none of those advertised rather optimistically on the two full page ads in the new issue of the Mojo – the music industry usually goes to sleep for the first couple of weeks in January but it’s woken up now – they can’t go many more Fridays like that.
SteveT says
Was in Fopp and HMV in Manchester yesterday. The lady at the counter in FOPP said they were currently not buying in any new stock. So basically the Steve Hackett album releases on Friday was not available in either shop.
fentonsteve says
Daughter went into the Cambridge branch yesterday and left empty-handed again. Everything just the same as before the new year. Those two Kraftwerk 2009 remastered vinyl albums are still in the racks at £16 and – who on earth would pay that? – £31.
Bartleby says
I was in the Reading store a couple of weeks back. The staff bent over backwards to be friendly (I don’t think I’ve been called ‘buddy’ that often ever) and I tried – I really did – to turn back into £50 man, for old time’s sake. But LP prices are daft, back catalogue is patchy, the dvd section is too large to browse casually and they just don’t stock most things in my Amazon wishlist.
ip33 says
I was in HMV Brighton yesterday, no new stock (Suppliers won’t supply while it’s in administration) but they did have exactly what I wanted. The When a Stranger Calls Blu-Ray Box, the same price as Amazon who can’t deliver for 2-4 weeks.
Let’s hope it keeps going, if only for their exclusive Blu-Rays and the pretty decent 4K selection.
fentonsteve says
HMV bought out of administration by Canadian owner of Sunrise Records (@Dai – any comment?). Just heard him on R4, he likes music and listens to vinyl. Whatever will they think of next?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-47091084
Arthur Cowslip says
Ooh, so there are 25 stores closing, with 100 stores remaining including 4 Fopp stores.
I wonder which ones?
We have two Fopps in Glasgow, so surely it’s too much to hope that both will stay open. I believe the Byres Road one was THE original Fopp, so if that closed it would be the end of an era.
Arthur Cowslip says
Wow, I was just googling Fopp – I had no idea they had over 100 stores at their peak.
GCU Grey Area says
That was the problem – then-independent Fopp took over the MVC chain, and rather overreached themselves.
fentonsteve says
There are currently 9 Fopp stores and I understand they do best, so I’m surprised only 4 will remain. Fingers crossed for Cambridge…
deramdaze says
“Likes music and listens to vinly.”
All very well and good and I hope this is good news.
One thing … I’m not sure I’ve stood in a queue with anyone about to buy vinly in an HMV or Fopp since about 1990.
Books, yes. CDs, yes. DVDs, yes. Vinly, no.
4% of 0.01% of a random number is not a lot.
Don’t believe the hype, mate.
fentonsteve says
In the other bit of the interview, he mentioned customers talking to knowledgeable staff. Whatever will they think of next?
dai says
Not sure about this. Vinyl is being bought more often, it’s market share is rising, CDs are plummeting, same goes for DVDs. Hence HMV/Fopp going bust. Not much point doing exactly the same thing again.
John Walters says
Fingers crossed for Manchester also.
Bargepole says
Apparently if you use the store finder link, the ones that are going are already gone……
https://www.hmv.com/store-finder
fentonsteve says
Thanks, Bargey.
Cambridge Fopp seems to have gone. Nearest branch to me is now in Stevenage. Cobblers!
@John-Walters Manchester Arndale is staying by the looks of it
Fopp remains in Edinburgh, Glasgow (Union St), London, Nottingham
minibreakfast says
No, looks like Cambridge Fopp is safe:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47132310
fentonsteve says
That’s 27, which tallies, but includes only 4 of the 9 Fopp stores.
I is confused.
fentonsteve says
Cambridge Evening News is reporting Fopp is saved, but it also says it is the only music shop in town. Well, it is if you exclude the other three (including one further up the same street). How’s that for “journalism”?
NigelT says
The imprssion from this is that he is a fan of physical product and believes it has a future. Let’s see – I’d rather see this happen than them all close, but for pity’s sake make them worth visiting….and change those signs that say Upstairs for Music and Vinyl….
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/feb/05/hmv-bought-doug-putman-stores-jobs?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
dai says
@fentonsteve Interesting, I posted my thoughts on Sunrise upthread. It’s a better thing than Ashley buying them. I understand the HMV name will disappear?
I think there are 4 branches in Ottawa (population about 1 million), I have been to all of them. If British model is similar expect more vinyl, more prominently displayed at front of store, quite a lot of non musical stuff and high prices, which will probably mean higher Amazon prices too. It is a reasonable result though and I am glad that jobs will presumably be saved.
dai says
I see the HMV and Fopp brands will remain, which is probably good news.
deramdaze says
The various specialist sections in HMV (Rock ‘n’ Roll, Reggae, Jazz, Comedy, Soundtracks etc.) used to be excellent.
Not so now. If a person goes up to the Rock ‘n’ Roll section it’s fair to assume that they have “Chuck Berry’s Greatest Hits,” so stock up on specialist Rock ‘n’ Roll labels like Ace and Bear Family.
Stock the product a Rock ‘n’ Roll magazine like Now Dig This reviews.
Similarly, I’ve just seen the James Brown page in the Uncut 60s Albums Special and of the eight CDs illustrated I’ve only ever seen one (“Live at the Apollo”) in a record shop.
If HMV Truro stocks “Cold Sweat,” “Gettin’ Down To It” and “It’s a Mother” you have three sales from me alone … £30, no questions asked.
“James Brown’s Greatest Hits?” = no sale.
Why would I pay £10 for something that (a) everyone’s already got, and (b) is £1 in the local Oxfam?
Arthur Cowslip says
That’s a very good point. Yes, wise stocking decisions could be crucial here. And yes, I do remember the specialist sections in HMV used to be good!
fentonsteve says
That full R4 interview and more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47127520
ernietothecentreoftheearth says
In terms of the new ownership, a business model that seems predicated , at least in part, from vinyl sales from the high street ( as opposed to the traditional off the beaten track lair of record shops) seems ambitious.
dai says
Yes, as I wrote previously, my faith in Sunrise being around for the long term is pretty low. However “millennials” do buy new vinyl and I do see them in the stores over here. Apart from vinyl they sell the usual sort of music related stuff HMV (probably) sold. CDs, Blu-rays, T shirts, fridge magnets, crockery etc
NigelT says
This statistic amazed me….’HMV sold 31% of all physical music in the UK in 2018 and 23% of all DVDs, with its market share growing month by month throughout the year.’
I guess this would have included some online sales, but a company with those figures still goes bust?! The answer is, presumably, overheads in terms of rates, rents and staff. Sadly, Oxford Street is one of the shops closing, which almost brings me to tears thinking of all the hours I spent in there.
dai says
But there is no high street competition. I would say those percentages should be higher and even if the market share is rising then it’s a larger piece of a (much) smaller pie.
Bartleby says
Supermarkets sell a limited range, but all the big sellers, with vast footfall. That and presumably Amazon explains much of the rest.
dai says
And 100% market share of f*ck all is not much.
Bartleby says
UK physical music sales £1.3bn last year – up 9% year-on-year. Which is a lot of Greatest Showman OSTs.
dai says
Really? Vinyl up. CDs surely down.
Bartleby says
Vinyl sales increased to 4.1mn units in 2017 – not sure if that captures 2nd hand stuff. CD sales dropped 12% to just over 40mn units.
fentonsteve says
New only. Vinyl holding steady at 4.2M in 2018
dai says
By my calculations that gives a unit vinyl or CD price of just under 30 quid. Seems high. Or are the cassette sales really high? 😉
fentonsteve says
The £1.3bn above includes streaming revenues.
For 2018
Streaming = 91bn = £829.1 (up 37.7%)
Downloads = 10.2M units (down 26.3%) = £122.6M
Physical = £383.2M total
New CD sales = 32M units (down 23.1%)
New Vinyl = 4.2M units (up 1.6%)
So average = £10.58
Sorry, I am very dull.
Bartleby says
Sorry, you’re right. I was looking at the wrong blasted bar on the graph (ERA figures).
dai says
Ah. As expected.
Bartleby says
Cassette sales were up over 100%, but still tiny volumes (tens of thousands).
Happy Harry says
Given the store closure list announced today I may as well conclude HMV/Fopp is dead to me.
Reading, Cribbs Causeway, Bath HMVs; Bristol and Oxford FOPP all closing. Shops I’ve used regularly over the years.
It appears a high street browse whilst the GLW does the important shopping will no longer be available.
A sad day.
dai says
Bristol Broadmead remains apparently, the last one I visited.
Happy Harry says
I’d almost forgotten about that one. Haven’t been in for years. I’ll miss FOPP and Rise ever so much more than is compensated for by Rough Trade. And those interminable family shopping trips to Cribbs are going to be more painful than ever.
deramdaze says
On a selfish level I’m pleased Truro and the Fopp near Cambridge Circus appear to have survived the cull but, yes, it is a sad day.
Rigid Digit says
Related back to the High Street thread – this action will leave some very big gaps on the High Street.
Whilst it’s reduced it’s footprint, the Reading store has quite a large corner store in the Oracle Shopping Centre.
Looks like I have an excuse for more trips to the local indie shop (Sound Machine) and an excuse to go to Basingstoke, or sample the delights of High Wycombe and Staines (do I really want to go to HMV tah much?)
(how did Basingstoke keep a flagship High Street name and Reading (the biggest local town) does not? Answer = Rent)
I’m cynically wondering if Sunrise Records looked at the books (obviously they did) and blankly decided to close all those stores with a Ground Rent in excess of £whatever – regardless of turnover/footfall/”potential”.
And what major Retail chain does notwant a presence in London?
dai says
I am sure they would do due diligence. I imagine overall profit (or projected profit) per square foot (or metre) is an important metric.
Happy Harry says
The Bath store must be costly to rent given its location. Bath becomes a music lovers wasteland I think
Bartleby says
You tend to look at contribution per store and ditch the ‘tail’ of unprofitable or marginal stores. Secondary market towns can be a lot more profitable than that London.
Rigid Digit says
With my Business brain in gear I wholeheartedly agree – it’s about profit not presence.
The London thing is more driven by nostalgia of “must visit” trips to London as a late teen/early20s, too much disposable income punter.
And there a many other places to visit – last time I was in that London, I din’t even go down Oxford Street.
Mention of Bath becoming a musical wasteland echoes that of Reading (now) – although we do have one proper little independent (some new but mostly second hand or collectible), an overpriced Oxfam and a slew of other chazzas selling “not a lot”.
Looks like the Amazon habit has received a boost
Happy Harry says
Oh yes that Oxfam in Reading is comical in its pricing (as most are). Looks like I’ll be sticking to Sound Knowledge in Marlborough and the various second hand shops dotted around.
Happy Harry says
And yes, I think Amazon will be the real winner
Kid Dynamite says
If I told you the rent on the Bath store you wouldn’t believe me.
John Walters says
Love Bath.
I visited for my sisters’s 40th Birthday party about 15 years ago.
Spotted a record shop and bought “Are You Experienced “ first edition mono on Track for 20 quid. In reasonable nick too.
Tony Japanese says
Personally, I’m glad my local store has managed to survive the cull. Even if it isn’t the largest and therefore doesn’t have the best range (it’s one of those stores that only seems to sell James Brown’s ‘Live at the Apollo’) the fact my friends and former collegues still have a job to go to is more important right now.
Rigid Digit says
Maybe there is hope for a re-opening (or am I clinging to a dream?)
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/feb/08/hmv-doug-putman-relishing-the-fight-to-save-all-stores
Hopefully “real” words and intentions, not just New Owner Management Speak
johnw says
This is fine but I’m not sure that he fully ‘gets’ Amazon because I would say that it’s much easier to go off on a tangent on Amazon and find something you’re not looking for than it ever has been in a physical record shop.
Also, I don’t know how HMV decides what section to put things into but I was in one last week and I glanced in the “specialist” section and there were loads of best of compilations from million selling artists. If this was a decision by the local ‘expert’ staff then they need more training!
NigelT says
At least he is saying the right things, and he has a track record. I think it is encouraging that..
a) he seems to be a music fan
b) he is very visible and not some faceless hedge fund owner
c) seems to recognise the place of a physical store and what it can offer
count jim moriarty says
d) He’s not Mike fucking Ashley, who appears to want to own the entire High Street.
Bargepole says
Nine stores – HMV & Fopp – that closed have now been reopened after deals were reached with landlords.
GCU Grey Area says
According to Music Week;
Merry Hill
Tunbridge Wells
Plymouth
Reading
Meadowhall
Braehead
Bath
Bluewater
Fopp Byres Road
Rigid Digit says
I can confirm the Reading branch has re-opened. No new stock yet though
NigelT says
Bollocks – not Exeter. I’m really interested in what he does with the shops and was hoping that would be one of them.
No news on the Oxford Street one either…?
NigelT says
HMV in Exeter has reopened! That must be most of the shops back up and running now..?