HMV to close 60 shops across the UK this year...

[BBMmk2]

M20 brassbandmaestro

Praise for Fine Records of 32 George St., Hove! Oh yes, absolutely. I have shopped there for many years and I offer a most positive view. Helpful, never obstructive, often combative (is that the right spelling?), very VERY opinionated, but on the basis of very, VERY deep knowledge. This a good shop. Go well, Julian and Ian. I once heard Julian say he was going to close it down, but then he didnt. Julian, please dont. Its a long way from where I live now, but still a great destination.

C'mon lads, where are the next good items? I havent had a bagfull of good stuff for half a year at least.

Mind you, that Copland LP was wonderful.

Ive know Ian for years and met up with him again when I started going to the shop in the old vynl days!! Ian always gets out good recordings for me. Some quikte raritites to!! long may this shop continue!

[Lateralthinking1]

I find the ending of record shops quite sad. Paul's article mentions Croydon. We lost Beanos last year which was once described as the biggest second hand record shop in the world and it was certainly something of an institution. HMV has never struck me as having much soul and it has always seemed to me to be rather pricey. I prefer it though to having nothing at all. I have shopped on Amazon but it doesn't excite me. As for the main centre, it feels like a combination of over-priced glitz and the last hour of a bring and buy sale - much like Great Britain itself.

[Flosshilde]

According to the article in the Guardian today (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...grim-christmas) "sites to be shut would largely be in areas where HMV and Waterstone's already have a presence" Glasgow has 3 HMV branches, 2 very close to each other (plus others in the large out-of-town shopping centres), so I suspect that the smaller will close. This is just across from Waterstone's, so if "Some analysts have pressed Fox to open more dual branded HMV/Waterstone's stores, having already piloted three such sites. The HMV boss said these were working well and there could be more combined sites in stores that have the space." I suspect that the larger Waterstone's in Glasgow will become one such - there seems to be plenty of space, since they haven't expanded their stock to fill the gap left by Borders

[Donnie Essen]

The large, academic, serves-the-universities Waterstones on Malet Street now has a small Fopp opened in there, which I gather is also run by the same group. I like Fopp for DVDs. Not so great for Classical music though.

[EdgeleyRob]

Mr Gibbs died last year , but the shop closed long ago because of a massive rent hike when the lease ran out.

Sorry to hear that
RIP

[Flosshilde]

Fopp ... which I gather is also run by the same group. I like Fopp for DVDs.

I didn't realise that, Donnie. I knew that they had re-opened after closing a while ago. My impression is that they are a serious music shop (I don't mean a shop for 'serious' music). If they are owned by HMV, why couldn't HMV shops have taken a leaf out of their book?

[Stunsworth]

Sorry to hear that
RIP

As am I. The last time I was in the area the basement shop was a Thai supermarket.

[Mr Pee]

Getting back to HMV and their generally dismal classical sections, I popped into mine today and was reminded of another problem- the fact that you can very easily look under Schubert and find Tchaikovsky, or vice versa. It's pretty much pot luck whether a particular composer will actually be in the right section. And that's assuming the staff have managed to spell the name correctly in the first place.

Yet another reason to buy online.

[Donnie Essen]

I didn't realise that, Donnie. I knew that they had re-opened after closing a while ago. My impression is that they are a serious music shop (I don't mean a shop for 'serious' music). If they are owned by HMV, why couldn't HMV shops have taken a leaf out of their book?

Yeah, I think they closed near all their stores, but the Covent Garden one stayed open all the while. Fopp is definitely somewhat 'hipper' than HMV, I feel. Out of the two, I'd rather see them opening in a bookstore, if these smaller stores are the route they're going. It feels less weirdly corporate and has a better selection of films, and non-classical music too. It's a great idea. I applaud its opening.

[Dave2002]

Firstly, the Threshold shop in Cobham is about to close. This is the one which has been supported by the Moody Blues for years - shame!
http://www.elmbridge-online.co.uk/cobham/cd/ [ignore the stuff about it being bigger and better - it IS going to close soon]

Prompted by reports of recent purchases by others in some of the HMV shops I went to Kingston (poor - still going downhill), then Bond Street (used to be good - but now you are forced to listen to loud jazz or "easy listening" - and reduced floor area), and finally Oxford street to seek out some new CDs. The Oxford Street branch still retains some touches of civilisation. There are doors to separate the other sections from the classical section, and they do a very moderate job of shutting out the din from the rest of the store. I bought 3 CDs - one Faure quartets by Domus, and the Stephen Isserlis set of Bach Suites, plus a 6 CD set of Johann Strauss etc. I'm not a great fan of Strauss, but for a tenner it seemed good value. On the others I can say that I lost a penny on the Domus set (7.99 online) and £4.01 on the Bach - as it's currently £11.99 online. I don't really regret paying a few quid extra on this occasion, as I suppose my purchase might have helped to keep one of the few remaining half way decent stores to stay open a bit longer, and with the Strauss "bargain box" I might have come out slightly ahead. However, it does seem that buying online is now much easier, and indeed more likely to provide access to a wider range of music, though the difficulty is now in knowing what's available and what is good.

Most CD stores around the country - not only HMV ones, are now so dire that there's not much point in going out to experience them.

[mathias broucek]

Most CD stores around the country - not only HMV ones, are now so dire that there's not much point in going out to experience them.

There is a wider problem here. With the death of the high street record or book store, where's a bloke supposed to hide while his prettier half is clothes shopping (somthing much less well suited to the online model)?

[Ferretfancy]

I spoke to a couple of the staff at the larger HMV in Oxford Street a few days ago, and they were still confident that it would remain open, I certainly hope so. Collecting music should surely be more than just sniffing out bargains, though that's part of the pleasure sometimes. I would really miss the expertise and advice that real human beings can offer. I do shop online from time to time, but there's no substitute online for the happy accidents that can occur when having a browse.

Where I live there were howls of protest when a small local foodstore was threatened with closure with Tesco looming on the horizon, but the complainers soon jumped into their four by fours and drove out to the big supermarkets. This discussion is just like that, bewail the disappearance of the shop, but don't support it.

We are also very lucky to get music, even at full price. A premium disc in the sixties could set you back 43 shillings and ninepence, a fair chunk of a weekly wage. Today we have superb quality, longer playing time and almost giveaway prices, but we don't consider the implications of this for the producers.

[vinteuil]

from BBC Robert Peston blos this morning:

HMV: It gets worse
Robert Peston | 16:59 UK time, Tuesday, 18 January 2011

I have been told by two music and entertainment companies that they can no longer get credit insurance for additional sales to HMV.

Here is an extract from an e-mail sent by the "head of credit and collections" at the UK arm of a major UK manufacturer and distributor of CDs and DVDs:

"I need to advise you that our credit insurers have significantly reduced our insured credit limit on all HMV entities. Based on the current HMV balances, the limit is not sufficient to support any sales on an insured basis moving forward.
"I have this morning met with the Chief Executive and Risk Director at the insurance company to understand the reasons for such a quick and drastic reduction. Due to HMV's listing on the stock exchange, they are unable to divulge the reasons for their decision. They met with Simon Fox last week and whilst they have said that HMV has provided everything asked for, they are clearly worried following the public announcement that bank covenants may not be met. A further review will take place in 4 weeks time."
I have put this to Simon Fox, the chief executive of HMV, which issued a profit warning on 5 January after lousy trading in the run-up to Christmas.

He said he was unaware that credit insurance had been so drastically scaled back - but he said he wouldn't necessarily know, because credit insurers deal with suppliers, not with HMV itself.

When companies can't obtain insurance for their sales, they trade at their own risk.

The entertainment companies I contacted said that for the time being they were likely to trade with HMV on this basis, because HMV is so vital to their ability to sell CDs and DVDs in the UK.

Mr Fox said that HMV had not yet experienced any difficulty in obtaining stock - though that did not surprise him, because this is a time of year when typically it tries to reduce its stocks.

The entertainment and music companies I spoke to were horrified by the idea that HMV might go out of business, because they do not want to become dependent on sales over the internet or through supermarkets.

[visualnickmos]

"... where's a bloke supposed to hide while his prettier half is clothes shopping..."

Be gay - it negates the dilemma!

[John Wright]

I was in the HMV store in Leamington Spa last week. Nearly all classical stock (200-300 CDs) is on sale at £3 each.