Does anyone still shop at HMV?

Actually there's an argument that the death of something like HMV would result in more independent record shops popping up again, but it'll never be like it was in the 80s and 90s.

― Matt DC

This could be a welcome side-effect of all this - not sure how realistic it is though. Independents that have already fallen weren't necessarily downed by HMV in the first place were they..

Dunno, the one indie record shop in Worcester probably was downed by HMV, or at least its closing coincided roughly with the tiny shit old HMV closing and the big(ish) swanky new one opening up in the new shopping centre.

HMV did really used to be so much better for back cat. I worked on and off at the Grafton St branch between 2000 and 2004. When I started the managers at the time had a lot more free reign to stock as they pleased (I remember a free-standing unit filled with the Neu! reissues that had just come out, the result of a discussion in the pub a few days before).

There were some amazing things in there 10 years earlier. Entire displays of obscure 70s prog cds on Background & Repertoire that I wound up buying loads of in clearance sales. Think this was even more staff driven than Neu! which were at least getting touted heavily in the monthlies.
Still not got over what was turning up there. Or who it was actually for. Grafton st used to be good for jazz & stuff too, don't think I've been in there in last few years. Tower had racks of similar obscurities at about 10Eur a pop last few times i've been in there. wonder if it was the same staff having moved shop or anything? though you'd hope they'd have moved on further still over 15 or 20 years.

Is the last Tower still there?

HMV sales are often really good, bought shitloads more stuff in HMV than any other major high street retailer

Very much recognise that feeling from my dublin years & more recent visits. Don't think it's as true in Galway. Not sure to what extent they've had clearance sales here.
But paying like 2.99 for Vashti Bunyan Another Diamond Day in Henry street branch and loads of other similar occurrences was almost a habit at one point. Think I picked up 4 or 5 items in that same purchase that were all cool somewhat obscure items, first volume of Afro-Rock definitely & couple of other things.

I miss those days.

Oh my good lord Marcello is RIGHT about the Oxford Street HMV!!! ....... and finished at the Oxford Street HMV, which was some kinda Holy Grail. Jeez, it's an ENTIRELY different store to the other branches I've been to (excepting the prices). They have a quite absurd, exhaustive selection, including, for the first time in any store, independent or mainstream, FOETUS records. Yay!

Was this the central London branch marked for closure 4 years later (message above from 2007)? also the branch Teeth Of the Sea work(ed)in according to onme of the staff.
Shame it's gone, if it has, cos it did have a wide range of stock in.
Internet is cheaper but you could actually browse in that branch.

The Oxford Street store still existed when I was in London in November.
The Tower Records (later Virgin) at Piccadilly, which used to be the biggest of them all in the 90s, has sadly been gone for too long though.

I really hope Fopp manages to survive when HMV finally goes down.

It's always mobbed whenever I'm in it, but then every FOPP shop I've ever been in has always been too small, it's like company policy or something, maybe to make the shops look busier than they are!

Is the last Tower still there?

Yes it is, though I'm not around that part of the city much anymore - and it's not really the last one. That one on Wicklow St and the one on the top floor of Eason's on O'Connell St are the last Tower Records stores in the western world. However there are loads of Towers in Japan, or that's what Wikipedia says anyway.

The Oxford Street store still existed when I was in London in November.
The Tower Records (later Virgin) at Piccadilly, which used to be the biggest of them all in the 90s, has sadly been gone for too long though.

I think the announcement of HMV closure came around New year didn't it/ Certainly while I was over there for Xmas.

As to that Piccadilly Circus shop I went into look around there while i was in the area. It's a trendy sweater etc shop the kind that sells drop crotch skinny jeans, yuch.

i have good memories of items i picked up in there over the years it was a record/cd shop, even up to it being Zavvi. While I was over during their existence they were selling Ethiopiques cds cheaply. so I nabbed a load of the good ones. think the jazz section was selling pretty cheaply too & i picked up some great stuff.

Yes it is, though I'm not around that part of the city much anymore - and it's not really the last one. That one on Wicklow St and the one on the top floor of Eason's on O'Connell St are the last Tower Records stores in the western world. However there are loads of Towers in Japan, or that's what Wikipedia says anyway.

was wondering how come Dublin was managing to keep the company afloat on its own. Did it become mailorder only elsewhere?
Heard the empire fell under the failure of one artist's lp or something. Maria Carey? Or was that whole story Virgin not them?

However there are loads of Towers in Japan, or that's what Wikipedia says anyway.

Yup, there's a couple of Towers in Tokyo (maybe more). The large HMV in Shibuya went at the end of last year.

The Oxford Circus HMV (the only one really worth going to) is still here. Irony of ironies, what’s causing most of their current debt is the shorter payment system required for games and gadgets (i.e. they have to pay the supplier in 60 days, rather than 70 days for CDs and DVDs). So if they’d stuck to what they did best, they wouldn’t be in so much trouble. That and providing a wider range of music in every other HMV branch rather than the glorified Our Prices (ask your dad) that they currently are. If you go into an average HMV and it’s just the Top 40 with trimmings and £5 back catalogue loss leaders then no wonder punters are put off.

Fopp did have a large branch in Tottenham Court Road (which I greatly miss) but as every schoolboy knows they overstretched themselves and that was that. They never stocked anything by Company Policy, though.

To correct Geir, the Tower/Virgin/Zavvi at Piccadilly was not bigger than the HMV at Oxford Circus.

They never stocked anything by Company Policy, though

Well at least you asked, must have been a disappointment though

Just before Christmas - Beatles Stereo Box was >£250 in HMV and £110 on Amazon. HMV used to stock up on box sets pre-Xmas and REDUCE the prices.

Not sure what point I'm making, other than 1) I like box sets 2) I like Xmas and 3) Fuck off HMV.

And.... hello Marcello!

To correct Geir, the Tower/Virgin/Zavvi at Piccadilly was not bigger than the HMV at Oxford Circus.

It seemed bigger, multiple floors and a basement you'd actually visit, etc...

hmv oxford circus has the same number of floors, the basement used to have the best stocked jazz and classical departments in the uk, and each floor is at least twice the length and width of the piccadilly circus building.

i worked in both shops, btw

Yr making me nostalgic now. Virgin Megastore in its heyday was pretty amazing too. xp

the thing I used to love about that HMV Oxford Street was that the classical dept was obviously soundproofed, so that when you walked into it you were immediately enveloped in this warm bath of sound. none of the blaring pop music from the rest of the store could enter into this cocoon. it was quite spectacular.

every FOPP shop I've ever been in has always been too small

Our Fopp in Nottingham is large, well stocked (I can generally find at least 80% of the CDs that I'm after), well laid out in a way that encourages serendipitous discoveries, with good-sized areas for a large number of genres, displays decently written blurbs for a large number of new releases including specialist stuff, is sensibly priced, busy, friendly... and five minutes' walk from the office. God, I'm spoilt.

the main London FOPP has a cramped main floor, that totally seems by design, in order to make it look busy. but the long long browseable rows upstairs squeeze a whole lot in, in the fashion Mike describes, and that t-shirt dungeon downstairs could fit way more stock in if they thought they could shift it. Glasgow has a fair bit of open space on the floor (contrastingly, making it look a bit welcoming as you come in) and makes good use of the balcony level to cram more stuff in). and the new London one stuck on the side of Waterstones is small, but too small? they're meant to be a mini-outlet, and still cram a great variety of new and deep catalogue in there.

Our Fopp in Nottingham is large, well stocked (I can generally find at least 80% of the CDs that I'm after), well laid out in a way that encourages serendipitous discoveries, with good-sized areas for a large number of genres, displays decently written blurbs for a large number of new releases including specialist stuff, is sensibly priced, busy, friendly... and five minutes' walk from the office. God, I'm spoilt.

Meh. It's okay, but it has no vinyl (well, zero to three records at any one time, no new releases), and isn't as esoteric as it could be. But then I'm just bitter because *maybe* if it had been one of the ones shut down Selectadisc might have survived.

My friend worked at Oxford Street HMV and it always sounded like quite a cool place - don't know if that was just because he got on really well with the people he worked with or what.

With regard to the Amazon conversation upthread, that doesn't really do it for me either - the vinyl stock is crazily haphazard and CDs don't usually seem as cheap as they often do things like DVDs for. I tend to use Norman or Boomkat or something similar.

Having said that, I can't complain - I have at least five great independent record shops within ten minutes walk of my house.

The best place I know for vinyl shops is Norwich. It has (at least) five, although the one in the market place was pretty much closing down when I was there.

the glasgow fopp on union st is ok spacewise, but the hillhead one gets seriously jammed at the wend (was in there on saturday w a friend from out of town who said to me 'they need bigger premises')

Re Tower in Dublin: it was independent of the main Tower company long before the latter crashed (can't remember the exact details), which turned out to be a good thing.

From http://www.towerrecords.ie/aboutus.asp

Tower Records is a leading specialist in Music, DVD, Books and Games Retailer based in Dublin and is wholly Irish owned by Records and Discs Ltd since July 2003. We are a licenced franchise of MTS Inc. (U.S.)

The company has two stores in Dublin on Wicklow Street and in the Easons Store on O'Connell Street.

it's good for cheap books. once bought a art spielgelman collection for £5 that was at least £25 everywhere else, even online.

I can't believe I didn't mention my most bad and hated thing about the last time I visited HMV. Admittedly, it was Christmas time, so it was never going to be a pleasant experience, but what was appalling had certainly happened before the mass influx of customers. What they had done was completely fuck up the alphabetical ordering of their DVDs. Not so that there was *no* ordering, though in fact that would have been infinitely preferable. Instead, they had put all their stuff in 'rough' alphabetical order. Consider searching for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Instead of:

Big
Big Trouble in Little China
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Billy Liar

or similar, you'd have a system that looked more like:

Bullit
Big
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bedazzled
Barbarella.

INFURIATING. (Though not suitable for the innocuous things/irrational anger thread, as not innocuous at all.) It was definitely the staff and not the customers, too, as they would have large numbers of each film in their [horrendously wrong] place.

I've noticed that "system" in effect in most video rental stores.

What are these video rental stores of which you speak?

Sort of related:

Tesco is pushing music companies to accept minimal upfront payments for the compact discs they ship to the UK retailer, in a renegotiation that will test how record labels’ bargaining power has diminished in line with shoppers’ interest in CDs.

Instead of paying £7 or £8 upfront for a typical album, Tesco wants to pay just 50p initially, with the remainder handed over when it sells the disc, Rob Salter, Tesco’s entertainment director, told the Financial Times.

The proposal could have a painful effect on suppliers’ cash flows, some music executives warned, but others added that they were willing to test Tesco’s plan.

Similar tentative discussions had begun with US retailers, one said, and could reverse a global trend of stores devoting less shelf space to CDs, whose sales have more than halved since 2000.

Mr Salter said the change of terms would allow Tesco to stock a wider range of music in more of its stores. “I think we’ll all end up with more money,” he said.

“I think we’ll all end up with more money,” he said.

Tesco wants to pay just 50p initially, with the remainder handed over when it sells the disc

So CDs will replace lager as the Tesco loss leader - three chart CDs for £5 instead of three cases of Stella for £20, until the record companies are so fucked they all sell out to Tesco Music. Shit vision of hell but there it is.

Still on for that massive closing down sale:

HMV will this week outline to its banks a rescue plan that will include the possible sale of Waterstone's, its nationwide book chain, write Ben Marlow and Kate Walsh.

The struggling retailer's lenders have told Simon Fox, its chief executive, that the company needs to raise up to £75m in new funds in return for a relaxation of its lending covenants, which it is set to breach in the coming months.

Fox's other cash-raising plans include a possible share issue and further store closures. The chain has already committed itself to closing 60 across the HMV and Waterstone's portfolio - about 10% of its chain in the UK and Ireland. Analysts argued that this did not go far enough.

Potential buyers for Waterstone's include its founder Tim Waterstone, who may team up with Alexander Mamut, the Russian investor who owns a 6% stake in HMV.

HMV will be expected to use the money to repay part of its debts, which have piled up after poor sales triggered its fourth profit warning in six months. The company recently revealed that its debts had soared to £130m - double City expectations of £66m.

The company's banks have demanded that the costs of its recovery plan are shared among all its stakeholders, including shareholders.

HMV, the troubled entertainment retailer, issued its fifth profit alert since last September, warning that ongoing trading difficulties would see profits drop to about £30m for the year.

The group had earlier guided towards a pre-tax performance “moderately below” the £45m analysts had expected, and Tuesday’s news sent the group’s shares down a further 5 per cent to 14½p.

HMV, which has been struggling to reduce its £130m debt burden, also confirmed that it had struck an agreement with lenders to push back tests over its banking covenants.

“While negotiations regarding amended facilities continue, the group is pleased to report that its lenders have agreed to move the measurement period for all relevant financial covenant tests from the 12 months ending April 30 2011 to the 12 months ending July 2 2011,” HMV said.

The company added on Tuesday that its banking facilities remained fully available to it and that discussions with lenders were “constructive”.

Alexander Mamut, the Russian oligarch, has been given just over a fortnight to agree a deal to buy the Waterstone's books chain, I have learned.

Nomura, which is advising Waterstone's troubled owner, HMV Group, has offered Mamut and the chain's founder, Tim Waterstone, about 15 more days to come up with an offer to buy it.

The cynic in me wonders whether the banks have just bought themselves more time to continue preparations for HMV's post-mortem and subsequent dismemberment.

The troubled owner of HMV has admitted for the first time that it is considering a controversial move that would involve freeing itself from millions of pounds in rent obligations.

I can exclusively reveal that HMV Group, which also owns Waterstone's, this week asked advisers to assess the feasibility of a company voluntary arrangement, which would involve handing back the keys to some of its shops.

It is the clearest sign to date that HMV, one of Britain’s best-known high street names, is contemplating more drastic options than closing 60 shops and selling parts of its business. A CVA would need the approval of HMV's landlords and I should stress that people close to the company say such a move is not its preferred option.

In a statement issued to me today, HMV said:

“HMV Group has not initiated a CVA. The company remains in constructive discussions with its banks who continue to be supportive, and current facilities remain fully available. The Group is also continuing to explore strategic options for Waterstone's and HMV Canada.

As is entirely usual and appropriate in current circumstances, the Group continues to keep itself fully informed on all of its available options and keeps its contingency plans up to date, among which a CVA may or may not be considered.”

In yesterday's Sunday Times:

The 128-store Canadian HMV business is expected to be sold for less than £5m.

Fopp are selling it, clearly.

Dominic O'Connell of the Sunday Times writes today that bankers involved in the Waterstone's deal expect HMV to have to close 500 of its 600 music stores if the books chain is sold.

Good.

I'd rather have 100 awesome shops that I only get to once or twice a year, than 600 mediocre shops I never bother with...

HMV Group has sounded a private warning that it could see its annual profits slump to just £3m within two years under a management plan to salvage its future.

I have learned that a report prepared last month by HMV’s lending syndicate following a management presentation painted a bleak picture of the company’s future on the high street.

The bank report said that if Waterstone’s and HMV’s Canadian operations are sold as planned, that under one scenario, the profitability of the core HMV chain is likely to slip as low as £3m by 2013.

That’s a far cry from the group’s current annual earnings, projected to be £30m this year following a string of profit warnings, and reinforces the struggle that HMV faces if it is to secure a long-term future on the British high street.

HMV’s banks are led by the taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, and are understood to be supportive of its efforts to restructure itself.

On Friday, HMV issues a statement confirming that it was in “advanced talks” to sell Waterstone’s, with Alexander Mamut, the Russian tycoon, among the contenders to buy it. I understand that HMV is keen to progress talks with Mamut and other bidders to the extent that it will be able to provide a further update later this week.

A sale of the Canadian business is also close, although any deal will be valued at “low-single digit millions of pounds”, according to people close to the company.

The next couple of weeks is likely to be crucial to HMV’s efforts to place itself on a sounder financial footing, because without a sale of its books chain, it’s unlikely to be able to meet its borrowing covenants when they are tested

HMV declined to comment.

cue daily mail letters asking when to start spelling "Great Britain" with the Rs backwards

the big we're not desperate sale has started. some new releases now £4 (recent glasvegas album !), lots are £3 etc.

I got the 2CD Screamadelica remaster for a fiver at Heathrow Airport.

they keep sending out ridiculous offers via email to; there was one where all pure cards members got £5 off any purchase with no minimum spend. so i bought a £5 book. for free.

and then another one with 20% off hmv online this week with no minimum spend

British taxpayers will become shareholders in struggling entertainment chain HMV as state-owned banks take a stake in the group.

As exclusively revealed by Sky City editor Mark Kleinman, HMV’s lenders will be granted warrants in the company worth up to 5 per cent of the company’s shares after striking a £220m refinancing deal.

The arrangement is designed to give the struggling retailer’s banks exposure to any recovery in HMV’s share price during the coming years.

It has already issued four profit warnings this year.

Fucked, in other words:

Struggling British music and DVD retailer HMV , which has been selling off assets in a bid to secure its future, said trading conditions were set to remain tough as it posted a 61 percent drop in annual profit.

The 90-year-old group, which has issued four profit warnings this year, said on Thursday it made a profit before tax and one-off items of 28.9 million pounds ($46.2 million) in the 53 weeks to April 30, in line with its latest guidance.

After tax and non-cash impairments charges from the assets it has sold, it plunged to a loss of 121.7 million pounds.

61%!!