Troubled entertainment retailer HMV has been saved from the threat of administration in a bittersweet rescue deal which will result in 27 branches closing down, including its flagship Oxford Street store in central London.
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HMV announced plans to appoint administrators last month, “blaming the popularity of streaming sites such as Spotify and the decline of the UK high street”, says the London Evening Standard.
However, the majority of its UK stores will now remain open after Canadian chain Sunrise Records purchased the brand. The company already owns 70 of the 105 HMV stores in Canada which shut their doors after the UK-based firm decided to shut down the Canadian arm of the business.
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The deal will save 100 HMV stores and four branches of Fopp, the specilist media retailer purchased by HMV in 2007, meaning 1,487 back office and shop floor staff will keep their jobs.
However, 27 stores deemed the least profitable were not acquired in the deal, and will close down, resulting in an estimated 455 redundancies. Those set for the chop include HMV’s first ever location, which has occupied the same site on Oxford Street since 1921.
Here are the 23 HMV locations and four Fopp stores which will be closing down:
- Ayr
- Bath
- Bluewater
- Bristol, Cribbs
- Chichester
- Exeter, Princesshay
- Glasgow, Braehead
- Guernsey
- Hereford
- Manchester, Trafford
- Merry Hill
- Oxford Street
- Peterborough, Queensgate
- Plymouth, Drake Circus
- Reading
- Sheffield, Meadowhall
- Southport
- Thurrock
- Tunbridge
- Uxbridge
- Watford
- Westfield
- Wimbledon
- Fopp, Bristol
- Fopp, Glasgow Byres
- Fopp, Manchester
- Fopp, Oxford
Retail analyst Richard Hyman told the BBC that in the absence of a “magic wand”, HMV’s new owner would find it “very difficult to carve a viable business” from the brand.
He said the decline of the high street had been particularly harsh on shops like HMV, whose business model relies on selling products that can easily be purchased elsewhere, such as DVDs and records.
“There are some markets that are just so compatible with online retailing that it makes it very difficult to have economically viable retail stores,” he said.
However, in a statement, Sunrise Records owner Doug Putnam said the company was “delighted” with its new acquisition.
“By catering to music and entertainment lovers, we are incredibly excited about the opportunity to engage customers with a diverse range of physical format content, and to replicate our success in Canada,” he said.