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

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

  1. Sound of the Suburbs

    Sound of the Suburbs Forum Resident Thread Starter

  2. englishbob

    englishbob has left the SH Forums...19/05/2023

    Location:
    Kent, England
    I would hope the Canadian firm get the deal, the Sports Direct chap isn't our finest upstanding member of employment society (but in truth most employers would do what he did if they thought they could get away with it)

    Changing the name of HMV might be a mistake though, although maybe on the flip side its just what it needs. Hopefully they will bin off DVD's, electrical products, videogames and these bloody things....

    [​IMG]
     
  3. sacdfan

    sacdfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Good news. I've just listened to a report on the BBC including an interview with the boss of Sunrise Records. They have bought out HMV and will be keeping 100 stores open, including four FOPP stores and saving nearly 1500 jobs. Not sure whether the online business will survive or if my local store will stay open.
     
  4. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Get in!! :)

    I now hope that my local one (Middlesbrough) stays open. I think it will as it's the only one in the area.
     
  5. mr.datsun

    mr.datsun Incompletist

    Location:
    London
    DVD is a huge part of Fopp's business - I hope they keep them.
     
  6. Hollow Horse

    Hollow Horse To pretend to be happy could only be idiocy

    I bought two CD's in a store yesterday. Good to see my input has had this effect.
     
  7. windfall

    windfall Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
  8. Rufus McDufus

    Rufus McDufus Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I've bought from their online store a few times in the last couple of years and the experience has been good, with prices undercutting Amazon on the items I bought (new releases). Hope they keep it running.
     
  9. Hollow Horse

    Hollow Horse To pretend to be happy could only be idiocy

    Last Autumn I bought all of The Smiths studio albums in our local HMV.

    When you look at how inexpensive CD's are (and we can remember when they got to be £12.99 a go can't we), and with all the ripping and converting done on YouTube, there is just something refreshing about buying music physically and having something to hold in your hand as opposed to a soul-less digital file.

    That's how I feel anyway AND the bigger picture is the demise of the high street owing to online sales. Surely we still want to enjoy going shopping, visiting a store and buying a t-shirt, album or DvD?
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2019
  10. sheffandy

    sheffandy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sheffield, UK
    Just heard on BBC news that the owner of the Canadian takeover firm is a big vinyl fan
     
  11. Valen2260

    Valen2260 Forum Resident

    Nice to read some good news for a change.

    Very sorry to hear that some staff will still lose their jobs, but at least the staff are being told privately before any public announcements - unlike last December when staff were left to discover the news via social media.

    It'll be interesting to see if the new owners can not just save HMV, but possibly help it to grow. They seem to have the right attitude:

    "It is very clear that the customer wants more selection on vinyl, more depth of catalogue," he said.

    "There's in no doubt that online is a big part of overall retail sales. But people like to come into a store, have an experience, talk with someone who understands music, loves music, loves video and entertainment. If you think online is the only future I don't think that is the case
    ."

    Now, I guess we wait to see which stores are going to survive.
     
  12. Graham

    Graham Senior Member

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
  13. Shaker Steve

    Shaker Steve Beatles & Elvis Fan

    I hope my local one stays open. It has a good selection of vinyl already.
     
  14. sparkmeister

    sparkmeister Forum Resident

    Location:
    Abergavenny UK
  15. englishbob

    englishbob has left the SH Forums...19/05/2023

    Location:
    Kent, England
    That completely counteracts the statement by HMV at the end of the year.
     
  16. englishbob

    englishbob has left the SH Forums...19/05/2023

    Location:
    Kent, England
    Good news about the Canadian buyout. He's talking up a good soundbyte about HMV being an iconic brand, so let's hope the name stays.

    Looking forward to see what happens in-store now, hopefully a big change
     
    Sound of the Suburbs likes this.
  17. David67

    David67 Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    Great news that HMV will survive. Unfortunatley, the local store here in Peterborough closed today. Gone are Our Price, Andy's Records, Virgin Megastore and two HMV stores.

    Gutted!
     
  18. BlueJay

    BlueJay Forum Resident

    A great relief to hear that HMV will live on. I hope the Sunrise model works. Here in Canada Sunrise took over my local HMV store a couple of years ago and it seems to be doing OK. It's miles better than the old HMV store. Better stock, better service. But there are still things that could be improved. The vinyl section is still considerably smaller than the cd section and vinyl prices are generally too high. Vinyl albums are loosely arranged alphabetically but not by artists (i.e. a bin for A, a bin for B etc.). My biggest concern though is that half the store is still devoted to DVD which, as I understand, is seeing the sharpest decline in sales. The good news is that the amount of entertainment 'bling' has seriously diminished.
     
  19. MGSeveral

    MGSeveral Augm

    Here is a list of the shops that are NOW shut...

    The alphabetical list follows:

    Ayr

    Bath

    Bluewater

    Bristol, Cribbs

    Chichester

    Exeter, Princesshay

    Fopp, Bristol

    Fopp, Glasgow Byres

    Fopp, Manchester

    Fopp, Oxford

    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
     
    coffeetime and jl151080 like this.
  20. FlatulentDonkey

    FlatulentDonkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northern Ireland
    Looks like HMV are hanging on. Nothing will really change though, HMV stores will continue to be soulless things that only ever stock what is popular and have gormless staff who look at you as though you have 2 heads should you dare ask about something niche.

    Still, at least Mike Ashley didn't get his grubby mitts on it
     
  21. I have to say that my experience of HMV staff in my local store is the exact opposite of yours. I would not be able to find fault with the staff, even if I wanted to.

    They are, without exception, friendly, welcoming, always willing to help when asked, pro-active in offering help if anyone looks as though they can't find anything but not in your face the instant you walk through the door (are you listening, Curry's) and - I have to say - very knowledgeable and, if any request I've made has been beyond their initial knowledge, then they have known what to do and where to look to get the information and have always succeeded in being able to help.

    So pleased today that my local store appears to have been saved.

    Best Wishes,
    David
     
  22. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident

    I find this quite depressing, HMV = Supermarket of music, many independent stores were forced to close due to their presence.

    Unless they totally changed absolutely useless unless you want safe and boring.
     
    WeeSam and Musicisthebest like this.
  23. Technocentral

    Technocentral Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    From The Guardian:
    "Putman, 34, has a decent track record. His Canadian music chain Sunrise Records has grown from just five stores when he bought it in 2014 to 84 stores today. The bulk of that expansion came in 2017 when he bought 70 of HMV’s stores in Canada after the chain went bust there. Putman says the gamble has paid off, with those stores now making a profit.

    The music mogul has has compared record shopping to a “treasure hunt”, leading customers to something unexpected, and claims the key to making a music shop work is offering customers depth of choice.

    He told Spill Magazine that while most shops might offer Fleetwood Mac fans a greatest hits collection or the 1977 classic album Rumours, Sunrise stocks a greater choice. “Rather than having what I call the ‘basics’, we would offer Tusk and Tango in the Night. It takes it deeper and it gives the customer that assortment in the store.”
     
  24. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    My local Fopp (Nottingham) is a great music shop. It's been a constant since I moved to the area in 2002, though it had to relocate to a smaller location in 2014. The staff, most of them young, are extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic and their prices consistently undercut Amazon. It would be a tragedy if this outlet closed.

    I'd forgotten about Fopp Manchester and I'm sorry to hear it's gone. The Edinburgh, London, Cambridge and Nottingham outlets survive.

    There's actually a specific BFI DVD set I want to buy, which Fopp intends to sell for £30.00, undercutting all online prices I've seen. But they're not able to obtain stock until the HM situation has been resolved.
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2019
  25. mahanusafa02

    mahanusafa02 Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Come to think of it, I've been in my local HMV (Bury St Edmunds) maybe ten times in the past couple of years, and the only two times I bought something (the Sgt Pepper deluxe box and the Sinatra Only The Lonely remix CD), there ensued fantastic conversations at the till about said titles and releases. Just the type of experience you've described. The rest of the time, the staff was courteous, asking me if I needed any help, but otherwise leaving me to browse freely. I hope this store is one of the keepers (just as everyone hopes for their local).

    EDIT: Good news, it looks like the BSE store will remain.
     

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