Oxford Street flagship shut but 100 of chain’s 127 stores will survive under new owner

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

HMV has been rescued from collapse by a Canadian music entrepreneur, but 27 stores in prime locations have closed, including the site of its first store on London’s Oxford Street.

Doug Putman, who runs the Canadian retailer Sunrise Records, has bought the UK music and film chain after emerging as the leading contender over the weekend, heading off competition from Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct.

Under the deal, 100 HMV shops will remain open, protecting the jobs of nearly 1,500 workers across the stores and head office. However, the immediate closure of 27 stores will lead to 455 job losses. A further 122 warehouse jobs will go in the coming weeks.

Q&A Which HMV stores are closing? Show Hide 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 Wells

Uxbridge

Watford

Westfield London

Wimbledon



Closure of the flagship store on Oxford Street signals the end of HMV’s presence on London’s most famous shopping street after nearly a century. That first shop was opened in 1921 by Sir Edward Elgar, the British composer.

HMV is also closing in other prime locations where rents are higher including the Trafford Centre in Manchester, Meadowhall in Sheffield, Westfield in White City, west London, and Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.

The retailer collapsed into administration just after Christmas, blaming tough conditions on UK high streets and competition from streaming sites such as Netflix and Spotify. Sales of physical music, games and video products in the UK fell by 11.4% last year, led by a near 17% slide in sales of DVDs and other physical film formats.

Announcing the deal, Putman said: “We are delighted to acquire the most iconic music and entertainment business in the UK and add nearly 1,500 employees to our growing team.”

Putman said he would personally lead the turnaround over the coming months. He told the Guardian he wanted to expand HMV and would be putting more vinyl records and more live music events into stores.

He said he hoped to replicated Sunrise Records’ success in Canada, where he took over about 70 HMV store sites after the chain went bust there in early 2017. The business is now profitable and has more than 80 outlets after increasing sales every year.

“I don’t know if there are people that love music more than in the UK but there isn’t a marketplace I would love more to be a part of. We’re very excited,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest HMV is closing in several prime locations and shopping centres where rents are higher including the Trafford Centre in Manchester. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Doug Putman: the vinyl fan aiming to put a new spin on HMV Read more

The stores will continue to operate under the HMV brand, with four stores continuing to trade as Fopp outlets.

Putman said he believed HMV would be around in the UK for a long time.

“If we go back four or five years they said the book business [would be replaced by digital downloads]. There’s a great story in doom and gloom and we can focus a lot on the negative and not a lot on the positive. There’s a really positive story here, there’s a positive thing that [HMV] can do almost £250m of sales from 100 stores. That suggests a lot longer life [for HMV] than people think.

“Talk about the demise of the physical business is sometimes a bit exaggerated, especially in music specialists. Most of the decline is coming from nontraditional sellers like the grocery chains. We’ll be here for quite some time.”

Putman, 34, has been president of Sunrise Records since 2014 when it had just five stores. His company has been a beneficiary of the renewed popularity of vinyl: Sunrise sold almost 500,000 LPs in 2017.

Quick guide The history of HMV Show Hide ● The first HMV shop opened on London’s Oxford Street on 20 July 1921, the ribbons strung across the doors were cut by composer and conductor Sir Edward Elgar. The retailer moved its flagship store back to this original site, at 363 Oxford Street, in 2013. ● The company was originally part of the Gramophone Company, founded by Emile Berliner, a German-born American inventor. ● In 1931 the Gramophone Company merged with a rival to create Electric and Musical Industries (EMI). EMI’s now-famous recording studios at Abbey Road were also opened that year. The first A&R managers to spot and develop music talent in Britain were appointed in 1940. Among them was George Martin, who signed the Beatles. ● HMV stands for His Master’s Voice, the title of a painting by Francis Barraud of jack russell dog Nipper listening to a cylinder phonograph (which was updated to wind-up gramophone and eventually used as a simple silhouette). ● Over the years many of the world’s greatest artists have appeared in HMV stores to meet fans or perform. They include Cliff Richard, Kate Bush, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Madonna, David Bowie, Beyoncé, Amy Winehouse and more recently Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. ● HMV was also a record label in its own right, with artists including Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley and Morrissey. In 1967 EMI converted HMV into a classical-only music label. ● In its first few decades HMV traded principally from the Oxford Street store, but spread across London in the 1950s and 60s. It did not become a national chain until the 1980s, when CDs made music retailing very profitable. It reached 100 stores in 1997, and grew to more than 200 by 2004. ● HMV bought book retailer Dillons in 1995 and three years later added Waterstones. In 2011, following a slump in book sales, HMV sold Waterstones to Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut for £53m. ● HMV floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2002, leaving EMI with only a token shareholding. ● Following a collapse in sales and several profits warnings, HMV collapsed into administration in January 2013. US restructuring firm Hilco bought some of HMV’s assets out of administration and took HMV back to its original flagship. • HMV collapsed into administration again in December 2018, with Hilco blaming an “extremely weak” festive trading season and “a tsunami of challenges”. KPMG was appointed as administrator, with HMV attracting interest from both Canadian music store mogul Doug Putman and Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley.

The deal saves HMV from collapse for the second time in six years, after the restructuring firm Hilco bought the business in 2013. Hilco called in administrators from KMPG in December, blaming an “extremely weak” festive trading season and “a tsunami of challenges” for retailers.

KPMG was tasked with either finding a buyer for the business or closing it down.

Neil Gostelow, a partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: “We are grateful for the support of all key stakeholders including the suppliers whose support throughout this process has been key in securing this sale.”

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Russ Mould, the investment director at AJ Bell, said HMV’s long-term future remained uncertain, despite the sale.

“HMV survives to live another day. Its acquisition by Canadian group Sunrise will ensure the iconic British brand stays on the high street. Alas, one has to question whether it has a big opportunity under the new owner or whether it is still living on borrowed time,” he said.