Looks like HMV in the UK may survive after all...

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Sound of the Suburbs, Feb 3, 2019.

  1. Exitmusic

    Exitmusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    Leicester U.K
    I did purchase the new Wolf Alice album on CD in HMV Leicester today,I'm admittedly pretty lucky as it's only a five minute walk away from where I work and to be fair there was a few people in there. Not sure wherever it's down to it being half term or not.
     
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  2. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I bought a recent Culture (reggae band) CD from HMV today, which is on Cherry Red. Credit to HMV for having it in as it only was released a couple of weeks ago and sold out almost immediately on the Cherry Red website and there's barely any on eBay and Discogs. Cost £17.99, not bad at all. It was £14.99 on the Cherry Red site but that didn't include postage.
     
  3. Exitmusic

    Exitmusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    Leicester U.K
    Even though i stream music 85% of the time and buy CD's the other 15% I do find HMV'S vinyl prices to be all over the place.

    For example you have the new Manic Street Preachers album available to pre order for £19.99 for a single vinyl which i guess is reasonable in this day and age and then you have the new Billie Ellish album to pre order for £37.99 which seems extortionate.

    The Ultra Vivid Lament | Vinyl 12" Album | Free shipping over £20 | HMV Store

    Happier Than Ever | Vinyl 12" Album | Free shipping over £20 | HMV Store

    In some ways it feels a bit exploitative as someone like Billie Ellish has a very dedicated fanbase who will want to own the vinyl and HMV are kind of taking advantage of that. There's no reason why a single album should be any more than £22.
     
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  4. octophone

    octophone immaterial girl

    Location:
    Scotland
    The Eilish album is a double on vinyl, I believe. Also, HMV's pricing is along the lines of everyone else's so it looks like a record label decision to hike that one.
     
  5. octophone

    octophone immaterial girl

    Location:
    Scotland
    It was the rent that caused the closure - a one-year extension was negotiated but they couldn't agree on terms after that. Permission was granted for conversion to a restaurant while Fopp were still in there but I guess the pandemic has made that unattractive thus far.
     
  6. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    HMV have become very erratic in pricing, and that is something that they need to sort out. Some things are ridiculously cheap, others are at the opposite end of the spectrum. And they also went through a phase of reducing prices but you didn't find that out until you got to the till. I don't buy new vinyl, and so can't comment on that. The idea of buying a new copy of an old album on vinyl just seems utterly nonsensical to me when you can pick up a used copy, normally considerably cheaper.

    My guess their biggest problem over the last year is their wariness of getting lots of stock in when they didn't know when they would next reopen. There was no point in keeping shops fully stocked if they were then shut for 6 months, and it's taking them a long while for the stock on the shop floor to recover. In 2020 it only recorded a marginal loss which, given what was going on, is a miracle (especially as their online service sucked). They got their online service sorted for the second and third lockdowns, though, and apparently did well through that, despite only having limited items on the online store. I think we tend to forget that it only came out of administration two years ago, and shops have been shut for nearly half of that time.

    All of that said, I buy a great deal from them, and if the price is only a pound or two, maybe three, more expensive than Amazon, then I'm happy to pay that to help keep them on the high street. But often their prices are actually the same or slightly lower to Amazon, and their "collector's corner" for the various specialist blu ray labels is always worth a look, even if it doesn't include a couple of labels which didn't agree to work with HMV after administration. But I agree they are still not up to speed after the last lockdown, but presumably they also have a lot of time being spent on their forthcoming 100th birthday.
     
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  7. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    Based on the emails they send out they seem to have abandoned being a music shop again and gone back to selling toys, games and merchandise which is exactly what put me and a lot of other people off going in their stores before.
     
  8. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    From what I can gather from someone who works there, they sell well. But they really only take up a small amount of the shop floor. The biggest problem is common sense. So often I go to the classical section, for example, and under one composer they'll have five recordings of a single work rather than one recording of five works. The same is true with back-catalogue artists. They'll often have five different versions of one album rather that one version of five albums. Either the people ordering at the store don't realise that's what is going on because they're not classical or jazz (or whatever) specialists, or it's the age-old problem of central ordering.

    I'm also surprised how much of the shop floor is given over to DVDs, particularly boxed sets of TV shows that you can watch easily through streaming services. But apparently people do still buy Poirot, Morse, Midsummer and so on despite the fact they are on ITV every day of the week. Sales were particularly high during pre-lockdown periods (ready for months stuck at home, I guess), and Amazon chart placings reflected that, too.
     
  9. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    For those interested in classic films:

    HMV currently have a promotion on much of the The British Film Collection series on blu ray from Network video. The titles are at £7.99, but £10.99-14.99 at Amazon.

    They also have an offer on the HMV Premium Collection series of exclusive blu rays, with (nearly) all titles in a 2 for £15 offer (they are usually £14.99 each or two for £25).
     
  10. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    I see today that Sainsburys have announced that they are no longer going to sell films and music, which has to be a bonus for HMV - especially if the other supermarkets follow suit.
     
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  11. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    It's bad if HMV don't survive though. There will be no major stores selling CDs and DVDs at all.
     
  12. Eric_Generic

    Eric_Generic Enigma

    Location:
    Berkshire
    HMV online *really* need to improve their packaging (or change their courier). Everything's turning up crushed/bashed up. The packaging is beaten up much more than my normal post.

    EG.
     
  13. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    Really? I've never had any problems. I'm guessing it's probably the courier. The only problem I've had is when they have sent a blu ray with the security tag intact! The website is still very limited, it has to be said. However, I ordered a batch of their 2 for £13 blu rays yesterday and got a dispatch notification ninety minutes later, which is pretty good going - especially as they were very slow this time last year.
     
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  14. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    I should also have added to this that the total of those 6 discs came to £10 less than they would have done on Amazon.
     
  15. sacdfan

    sacdfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    HMV have today announced the opening of 10 new stores on the high street this year, including a new London flagship store. Hopefully this means that they have a long term future. Let’s hope that they are able to make their pricing more consistent.
     
  16. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Not consistently ridiculously high though!
     
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  17. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    It seems as much as anything to be an issue of organisation as much as anything else. I took two items to the tills last week, and they were both cheaper than the ticket price (and not in the current 20% deal).
     
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  18. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
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  19. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    What a load of self indulgent tacky sh*te!

    It's not really even HMV anymore anyway, it's Sunrise now, just using the HMV branding as it's so well known. Like Sports Direct using old trainer brands in a way.
     
  20. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    That's your Nipper cancelled.:laugh: I'd have to dig through my bag collection to be sure, but it seems HMV are really leaning on the 1980s branding as the basis for most of their tat, hardly celebrating their hundred years of history though perhaps the 1980s are as far as the archives go back, I should have offered them scans of a pre-war bag.
     
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  21. Gavaxeman

    Gavaxeman Take me back to dear old Blighty...

    Location:
    West Midlands U.K.
    I have to confess to ordering a Nipper fluffy dog for my music room...
     
  22. Andy Saunders

    Andy Saunders Always a pleasure never a chore

    Location:
    England
    Blooming heck- never saw this one coming.
     
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  23. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I've still got a pile of carriers for you here, along with a Kim Weston CD that I totally forgot about!
     
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  24. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I could be seen as cynical, but I can't see how this is going to work at all...
     
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  25. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    It's one small amount. Everything has concentrated on music and film.
     

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