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

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

  1. Eric_Generic

    Eric_Generic Enigma

    Location:
    Berkshire
    Flash sale online as of today. 50% off.

    About 600 CD titles....mainly obscure/indie things, but any fans of 80s acts who are now on smaller labels will find some interesting stuff:

    Tom Bailey
    Howard Jones
    Swing Out Sister
    Marillion - latest album on Blu-Ray
    Lloyd Cole
    The The - Comeback Special
    The Fizz

    An inexpensive way to fill in some gaps....and pick up the more recent entries in the discography.

    EG.
     
    boiledbeans, Ste_S, Dave and 4 others like this.
  2. Ste_S

    Ste_S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Birmingham, UK
  3. jamo spingal

    jamo spingal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Nice, got two King Gizz double albums this morning. One at £12.50 and one at £14.00, free delivery.
     
    Eric_Generic likes this.
  4. Gavaxeman

    Gavaxeman Take me back to dear old Blighty...

    Location:
    West Midlands U.K.

    Got the last Marillion on orange Vinyl for £15 and the last Lloyd Cole for £6 for nice free delivery..not a lot else spotted
     
    Eric_Generic likes this.
  5. Eric_Generic

    Eric_Generic Enigma

    Location:
    Berkshire
    I did think of buying the Lloyd Cole, but can't be sure I already have it so left it for now. Quite appropriate for an album called Guesswork!

    EG.
     
    Dave and Gavaxeman like this.
  6. Chris Treece

    Chris Treece Forum Resident

    Location:
    Haworth, UK
    Picked up the Lloyd Cole (blue vinyl!) for £5.99 this week.
     
    Eric_Generic and Gavaxeman like this.
  7. Gavaxeman

    Gavaxeman Take me back to dear old Blighty...

    Location:
    West Midlands U.K.
    I was pleasantly surprised by it being on blue vinyl as wasn’t advertised as such - not bad for £5.99
     
  8. johnnybrum

    johnnybrum Forum Resident

  9. catboy

    catboy The wrinkled retainer

    Location:
    East Sussex
  10. MGSeveral

    MGSeveral Augm

    Don't they own that site? Or, did they sell it to realise some assets to pay people or summat?
     
  11. AlmostHeavenWV

    AlmostHeavenWV The poster formerly known as AlmostHeavenWV

    Location:
    Lancaster UK
    Apparently it's reclaiming the site from an American Candy Store, so seems like HMV rented out the site.
     
    LivingForever and Eric_Generic like this.
  12. Pop_Zeus

    Pop_Zeus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southport, UK
    They will probably still be selling candy, bizarre drinks & breakfast cereals!
     
  13. Guapito

    Guapito Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Thank god for that. American Candy FFS.
     
    FramboGND and AlmostHeavenWV like this.
  14. AlmostHeavenWV

    AlmostHeavenWV The poster formerly known as AlmostHeavenWV

    Location:
    Lancaster UK
    Studio_Two likes this.
  15. Guapito

    Guapito Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Studio_Two likes this.
  16. FramboGND

    FramboGND Givin' it all

    Location:
    British Isles
    Yeah, the one left inside a US style mall in Norwich is largely reduced to posters, toys, tat-a-geddon, while the films sit there on the wall often priced higher than their own website :doh:

    Don't see many of the Styles or XCX LPs being taken to the till either...
     
  17. BlueJay

    BlueJay Forum Resident

    It's easy to be cynical. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that HMV might actually get it right his time, i.e. recreate a genuine music store which builds on its fabled past and looks to a successful future selling and promoting popular music in all its changing forms and formats. I can already bet they're going to get Paul MCartney to pop over from St. John's Wood to reopen the store.
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2023
    Eric_Generic and carlwm like this.
  18. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    Really? I find the blu ray collector's section often lower than Amazon - it's just a shame that some labels won't trade with them. But it should be no surprise if some prices are higher than their website (although I've seen little evidence of this). They are paying for a city centre store, not a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. They have overheads to pay.

    While I know it irks people that the store isn't completely given over to music and film on disc, the fact is that IT'S STILL OPEN. The article linked to a few posts back about says they have returned to profit. That should be celebrated. And it's clear, if the merchandise wasn't selling well, HMV would be gone. But HMV have always sold more than just discs. For many decades they sold TVs, for example - and that was at a time when there was no VHS, DVD or blu-ray to go with them, so really no link to the record/disc shop we think of them as.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  19. boiledbeans

    boiledbeans Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Excellent news! I hope the new store won't reduce in size! If I remember correctly, it was 3 floors when it closed in 2019, with CDs on the upper floor, DVDs & blu-rays in the basement, and new release items (plus all the candy, soft toys) on the ground floor.
     
  20. FramboGND

    FramboGND Givin' it all

    Location:
    British Isles
    That's the funny thing - so do I ;)
     
    stem and johnnybrum like this.
  21. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    .
    I doubt your rent and rates are the same price.
     
  22. FramboGND

    FramboGND Givin' it all

    Location:
    British Isles
    No, but it costs me train tickets or diesel + parking to get into the city. Same with the hi-fi shops left up there. Wasted time spent travelling, haven't got the right film or part in stock to make the deal, want you to come back again next time. Go home, order online elsewhere that do have it. Vicious circle, and when everything's gone up in the UK now, after one of the most expensive, topsy turvy winters I can remember, sorry, but every penny counts. Nice to support the high street, British jobs, manufacturing etc., but they don't make it easy, feels like you often need deeper pockets and a lot of patience...

    I suspect they'll end up like Debenhams, and we both know what that looks like now in the city, with the tents in the doorway. I speak with HMV staff, there's no help or expertise on anything like cartridge alignment or brands, and seem like staff couldn't give a stuff on many artists or directors back catalogue, just what you see pal. I've had them literally turn their back on me mid conversation, lol :unhunh: If they can survive another year with the big head toys, fair play to them :shrug:
     
  23. Gavaxeman

    Gavaxeman Take me back to dear old Blighty...

    Location:
    West Midlands U.K.
    I’m amazed they are back at Oxford street , when they left that site they said the rent for that flagship store was more than all the others combined ! Hopefully they’ve negotiated a big discount from the landlord which might show you just how desperate the British high street is becoming
     
  24. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    That's odd, because every time I go in the Norwich store, the staff are helpful, and offer to order anything in that they haven't got. Why you have a bizarre notion that a smallish shop is going to have everything that is available online, I have no idea. It's a shop, not a warehouse. Meanwhile, if they are now turning a profit, and new shops are being opened (and the Norwich shop is being refurbished in June) they are clearly doing just fine.

    The department stores that have closed ended up catering to no-one. Would you go there to buy bedding? Nope, because you'd have too small a choice. Would you go there to buy clothes? Probably not, because there were bigger choices in actual clothes shops. Who were Debenhams and BHS aiming at? The lower paid? No, Primark takes care of that. The middle class? Probably not, because the goods weren't good enough. If any dept store in Norwich knows its core customers well and caters to them, it's Jarrolds.

    HMV do the same when it comes to blu ray, that's for sure, generally getting everything new in from the likes of Arrow, BFI, etc - although not so much right now, probably due to wanting to get stock down for the refit. But HMV in Norwich are perfectly happy to tell you if they have a particular item in stock if you talk to them on Twitter - and I'm sure you can call a hi-fi shop to see if they have a part in that you want, thus saving you all of that train fare if they haven't...
     
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2023
    Pouchkine likes this.
  25. shanebrown

    shanebrown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    The bizarre thing with the British high street is that the landlords would rather have a shop stand empty than get a smaller amount of rent. It's not like there's a queue of shops waiting to go into the empty spaces.
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine