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

I went to a Sunrise Records today in Montreal and found quite a lot of CDs 2/10$ and overall very good prices. The CD section is not that big but I was pleasantly surprise that they had some good selection from some artists. Archambault have a bigger CD section but often times it's only the latest album, the biggest seller and the most recent compilation.

The vinyl section is quite impressive but the prices seemed pretty high although I'm no expert on vinyl.

Some good selection of music t-shirts as well 2/35$

A LOT of DVDs mainly tv series and movies which I don't care for at all, only a very small DVD section for actual music.

I came with no expectation and overall it was pretty good, I will go back for sure. It's nice to still have some actual stores to buy new music.

 

First lot of HMV vinyl week exclusives revealed:

hmv Vinyl Week 2019: First exclusives revealed! | hmv.com

 

These are also available at Sunrise, and FNAC in France, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Saturn in Germany have them, as they had the last lot of “exclusives” too.

 

Sunrise Canada has a habit of presenting "exclusives" like this.

 

It's also worth adding that, if the store is big enough to accommodate them, then the book section is worth a quick glance. They have been doing 2 Gollancz sci-fi novels for a fiver which is very cheap indeed. Same price on some Penguins too.

 

Well HMV in Worcester is closing, a university city no less. It's also disappeared from Shakespeare's town, a major tourist hotspot.

It's not looking good.

 

On the other hand, Fopp has been reopened in Manchester.

Its all down to landlords rather than consumer demand - do they want their shops occupied with slightly less rent, or do they want them empty with no rent at all.

Landlords are going to have to understand that the high street isn't what it was, and the demand for the shops they have is less. Less demand means they have to charge less rent or they're going to stand empty.

 

It might be worth mentioning that HMV/FOPP have a new offer on Arrow blu rays starting today. Buy one get one free - so in most cases that's 2 for £15,but the offer also includes the boxed sets that Arrow has done.

 

Worcester is not an old school university city like Cambridge or Oxford, plus I think relying on students these days is a recipe for disaster. A major tourist hotspot does not translate into record sales. In fact, being a tourist hotspot probably has the opposite effect and put regular punters off because of the crowds. Neither Worcester nor Stratford strike me as being low rent kind of places. I think any store selling non food or tourist tat would struggle.

 

The Norwich HMV has had a revamp over the last month or so. There is now a sizeable blu ray section aimed at collectors editions - BFI, 88 Films, Arrow, HMVs own range, Indicator, and something I've missed! Last week, new vinyl racks arrived, allowing for a lot more stock in around the same amount of space. All the various speciality music genres are now housed in one area of the shop. It certainly looks as if the move is being made to cater to the hardcore music buyer rather than someone wanting Bieber's greatest hits. There's also been a sale on with some quite impressive reductions. The Universal Horror Legacy sets are £12 on blu ray as opposed to the regular £25, for example. And the buy one get one free on Arrow blu rays has been very useful too. On the ones I bought (the offer ends today I believe), I saved around £90 on Amazon prices. Elsewhere, non-sale prices are still impressive. I bought Hackers today on blu-ray for £9.99. It's £25 on Amazon.

The are still things to sort. HMV are unable to stock Eureka blu rays, which is a shame. And I tried to order today a relatively obscure classical set and that wasn't happening either. But considering they were likely to close six months ago, it's nice to see that changes are being made and a conscious attempt is being made to appeal to their core buyers.

 

Hm, it's not very inspiring though, is it? I'm not into vinyl, so they can fill the entire store with that, it won't matter to me. If they increased their selection of CD's, and carried more CD box sets then maybe.......

 

Looks like the one in Meadowhall survived despite being earmarked for closure

 

Not very inspiring? What do you want them to stock? Hmv have plenty of boxed sets, but they are not always on display as such - most are represented by a jewel case in the racks that you take to the desk.

It's also still early days, and surely the fact that changes are happening IS inspiring.

 

As I said, CD's. The selection of CD's in my local HMV is appalling. Their lack of box sets is likewise shocking. I'm glad yours seems better, but it's probably best that neither of us assume our own is typical.

The one and only need I personally have for HMV is music. Get rid of the books, get rid of the video games, get rid of the movies, get rid of the posters, get rid of the T-Shirts, get rid of the electronics. Fill the space with music of all sorts. Vinyl and CD, along with SACD etc. Have a proper import section. Have a proper soundtrack section. Have a proper Jazz section. Have a proper classical section.

By "proper" I mean with a large selection of both new and back-catalog releases. I want both width and breadth. This applies to all sections/genres.

This may seem like pie-in-the-sky thinking, but the fact is - this is precisely how HMV built their reputation. They knew who their audience was, and they catered to it with vigor. What we have now is a store that has diversified into anything and everything, from clothing to books and games. Gone is the deep levels of stock needed to give depth to their offerings. In my local store the entire history of Jazz is contained in half a rack of stock. Classical music likewise. Why would I go there?

Honestly, HMV seem to lack focus and a real commitment to be the best at anything they sell. They've been on a rush to the bottom for some time. Hence the 5 for 25 deals, or the 3 for 10, or whatever thing they're doing today. Every day is SALE day at HMV.

Still, if they think bringing Vinyl back is going to save them, let them at it. I don't personally see that working out well for them, but we'll see.

 

I was in HMV Birmingham yesterday, big vinyl section which is pushed right at the back of the store, racks are squashed in too tight, sale stuff tucked away , nowhere near the front of the vinyl section yet alone the store. They’ve now taken to unsealing and removing coloured vinyl out of sleeve and putting at the front of the record which made me very nervous about buying , as it would be so easy for scratches in the process and then god forbid punters handling on the racks. Front of store was a right mismatch of cd offers, t shirts , dvds (surely s dead format?) .
The cd section is ok, but dwarfed by DVD’s .
It needs to be a proper music store . And it needs a reorganise of shelves and stock , get the good stuff up front .

Biggest issue Price , very expensive, and why the hell are the prices on the back ?

 

To ensure people put their dabs all over it just to check if it's in their price range.

Pricing is a difficult one. They'll clearly never compete with online. I'll pay a little more, but not twice as much.

Mostly though it's that impulse buy. If they had a box set on release, just seeing it would probably make me buy it, even at a higher cost than online, as long as I didn't feel like I was being ripped off.

 

I think I’m that used to pre-ordering online that there always a whiff of disappointment when you spot something in a store , think , that’s interesting and then see a £30+ price tag which kinda kills the moment. HMV , record labels need to look at these classic albums that have more than paid their way and do something different to get vinyl flying again . When I was a kid that’s how I built my Collection, remember the Fame reissues, the emi price attack promotions. If you had a wall of new vinyl , of decent quality (NOT public domain rip off ) , say priced at £8.99 it might start the buying sprees off...

 

The notion that HMV could possibly survive selling only music is ridiculous. It ain't going to happen in 2019. So, unless people want them to go under yet again, they need to get used to the inclusion of films etc. I'm sure the DVD section will shrink over the coming months as they are the biggest shrinking market within everything they sell. People who don't like films enough to have a blu ray player are more than likely going to stream rather than buy on CD - and the extensive collector's section of blu rays is only likely to grow.

I do agree that the jazz and classical sections need an overhaul, but I think that's only likely when the move comes so that individual stores can control their stock instead of it being centralised. That is due to happen soon, apparently. That said, the classical section certainly does have some oddities. I picked up Victor Herbert's Cello Concertos yesterday - hardly run of the mill material.

 

Well, you're on a music forum, so it stands to reason people here would be more focused on music. I grew up in times when walking into a HMV record store was an all day affair - you knew you wouldn't be leaving there for three hours or more. Sadly today it's not really worth the effort walking to the other end of the store to find their meager CD offerings.

I guess what I'm saying is, HMV for me is a music store first and foremost. They were very good at it, accommodating all kinds of genres, with deep back catalogs etc. They were never the cheapest. Today you look at a HMV and all you can see from the front window is row upon row upon row of Blu-Ray and DVD's. Hell, even the books are nearer the front of my local than the music.

While it's fair to suggest it may well be ridiculous to say they could make a go of it as a music store, I'd go on to say that the idea that they'll turn around their business by adding a couple racks of Vinyl is equally suspect when their other music offerings are so weak. Honestly, I don't see a future for HMV. They went from being a premier operation to coming across as a dumping ground for tat and old stock at cheap prices. It ought to be obvious that bringing in Vinyl isn't going to sustain them, imo.

Hell, just what is HMV about today?

 

The Leeds store is closing, sadly.

Leaves a big city with just a couple of decent but limited independents.

 

Real shame. Used to go stay with my brother there and loved that store, especially in its former 2 floor layout. Long live Jumbo & Crash

 

Honestly I think HMV is really expensive, I just get my music on 'Amazon' now.....and I no longer need 'knowledgeable' staff, when I have forums like this one, that contains 1000's of knowledgable people,........Its sad yes, but things change why prolong there closure any longer?.....

 

Why do you think it's expensive. 90% of the stuff I buy is either the same price at Amazon and HMV, or cheaper at HMV.

 

Too be fair Mr Brown I havent been in a HMV for about 3 years,.......but back then it was always more expensive...maybe due too the change in retail, times have changed.....

 

HMV are probably taking a look at the indie stores who are massively focusing on vinyl and phasing out CD, and thinking they’d be daft not to take a slice of that pie. Now whether the people who shop in indie stores and buy all that vinyl would switch to HMV if they had a much bigger vinyl offering, I don’t know.

But I also don’t know how many people are really buying CDs at HMV still (not that many, if the branch my friend works at is anything to go by.)

I’m not convinced that expanding the CD section (which is already by far the largest you’ll find in any B&M shop), is the way to go.