HMV is latest high street casualty: 4000 jobs at risk (From Daily Echo)
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HMV is latest high street casualty: 4000 jobs at risk
11:00am Tuesday 15th January 2013 in Business By Echo Reporter
4,000 jobs at risk as HMV calls in administators
Entertainment store HMV has become the latest high street casualty as it announced it had been forced to call in administrators.
Following discussions among the music retailer's directors, the company last night announced it was ceasing trading in ordinary shares immediately - and had appointed accountancy giant Deloitte.
HMV, which employs more than 4,000 people, has stores at WestQuay, Southampton, Winchester, Newport, Basingstoke and Fareham.
It said in a statement: ''The board regrets to announce that it has been unable to reach a position where it feels able to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection, and in the circumstances therefore intends to file notice to appoint administrators to the company and certain of its subsidiaries with immediate effect.
''The directors of the company understand that it is the intention of the administrators, once appointed, to continue to trade whilst they seek a purchaser for the business.''
In the run-up to Christmas HMV's boss Trevor Moore warned the entertainment group was in trouble as he revealed the chain was in talks with banks over its future following worse-than-expected trading over the festive period.
The chief executive said market conditions suggested the group, which has 238 stores in the UK and Ireland, would fail to meet expectations for the year to April, so would not meet the terms of its bank loans.
HMV said like-for-like sales fell 10.2% in the 26 weeks to October 27, last year, as its pre-tax loss narrowed to £36.1 million, compared to £50.1 million the previous year.
Shares tumbled 39% after the dismal results were published, giving the retailer a market value of just £10.1 million.
Mr Moore joined the group from camera chain Jessops, which itself went into administration last week at the cost of 1,370 jobs across its 187 stores.
Suppliers including Universal Music came to HMV's rescue in January 2011 with a deal which helped the retailer shed some of its huge debt pile.
Its struggle has seen it sell off several parts of its business, including the Waterstones book retailer, to reduce its debt pile, while closing loss-making stores.
HMV also offloaded its Hammersmith Apollo venue for £32 million, which enabled it to thrash out a new deal with lenders.
Back in May, last year, when former boss Simon Fox was still in charge, the group said it was looking for pre-tax profits of at least £10 million for the 2012/13 financial year.
- Demise of HMV will leave consumers out of pocket
- Store played its part in helping launch The Beatles
Here are a few facts about the 92-year-old music retailer:
- The chain was founded in 1921 with the arrival of its landmark store in Oxford Street.
- It was opened on July 20 that year by the composer and conductor Sir Edward Elgar.
- The company became known for its ''His Master's Voice'' trademark, the name relating to an 1898 painting of a dog called Nipper listening to a gramophone.
- Tragedy struck at the HMV store and offices in Oxford Street on December 26 1937 when the shop's caretaker William Travis died in a fire which destroyed the building.
- During the Second World War, the Oxford Street store stayed open for business while parent company EMI's record factory at Hayes, west London, was used for munitions manufacturing.
- The Waterstones book chain became part of the HMV stable in 1998 but was sold off in 2011 as the troubled music chain attempted to get its finances in order.
- The store developed into a live music and ticketing operator, owning a string of venues and bars including London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo.
- HMV now comprises around 238 outlets and 20 live entertainment venues and festivals.
- It employs more than 4,000 people.
- The chain operates from entertainment stores and websites in the UK and Ireland, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Comments(15)
anderoo
says...
8:25am Tue 15 Jan 13
Fingers crossed it will be saved.
three halves
says...
8:33am Tue 15 Jan 13
hulla baloo
says...
8:45am Tue 15 Jan 13
bigfella777
says...
9:49am Tue 15 Jan 13
What I did see on the shelves was a lot of tat, ie films you have seen a dozen times, 3 for a tenner and stuff, nobody wants it.
They should concentrate on selling more gadgets.
St Retford
says...
10:09am Tue 15 Jan 13
bigfella777 wrote:Yes, the high street electronics market is doing really well at the moment.
I was in a queue of about 30 people for 20 minutes in HMV at Christmas, I wouldnt call it quiet.
What I did see on the shelves was a lot of tat, ie films you have seen a dozen times, 3 for a tenner and stuff, nobody wants it.
They should concentrate on selling more gadgets.
Sadly, pop music has been absolutely shafted by the internet. The kids just don't spend money on it. They don't even download it illegally anymore - it's just there on YouTube whenever they want it and it's a massive problem because how is anyone going to fund the next Girls Aloud on the back of some meagre licence fee that YouTube pays to the music industry? It's a shame because for a 50 years pop music was dead good. Now it's just going to be whatever still sells in the supermarkets that will survive.
WOOLSTONCHAP
says...
10:40am Tue 15 Jan 13
__KTF__
says...
11:10am Tue 15 Jan 13
anderoo wrote:Try visiting any one of the major supermarkets instead.
This will be a tragedy if HMV disappears from the the high street. Its the only surviving music store left, and those who dont shop online wont have anywhere to go to buy CD's and DVD's.
Fingers crossed it will be saved.
No problem buying the physical media from them when HMV closes its doors.
peenut81
says...
12:10pm Tue 15 Jan 13
hulla baloo wrote:Hopefully he will join some of the banks, accountancy firms and administrators who all seem to be doing very nicely since 2008 as the real economy crashes all around them.
That Mr Moore seems a jinx, wonder what company he will sink next.
Still pushing all that paper around, living of rents and creaming the profit of every other business in Britain seems to be the only viable way to make money in the UK now.
anderoo
says...
12:27pm Tue 15 Jan 13
__KTF__ wrote:Trouble with supermarkets, they only stock what they want to....very limited choice.
anderoo wrote:Try visiting any one of the major supermarkets instead.
This will be a tragedy if HMV disappears from the the high street. Its the only surviving music store left, and those who dont shop online wont have anywhere to go to buy CD's and DVD's.
Fingers crossed it will be saved.
No problem buying the physical media from them when HMV closes its doors.
__KTF__
says...
12:44pm Tue 15 Jan 13
anderoo wrote:No different to HMV then which was one of its problems.
__KTF__ wrote:Trouble with supermarkets, they only stock what they want to....very limited choice.
anderoo wrote:Try visiting any one of the major supermarkets instead.
This will be a tragedy if HMV disappears from the the high street. Its the only surviving music store left, and those who dont shop online wont have anywhere to go to buy CD's and DVD's.
Fingers crossed it will be saved.
No problem buying the physical media from them when HMV closes its doors.
Rather than specialise in a certain area it tried to be all things to all people which is never going to work as the supermarkets (and online retailers) will just undercut them.
bigfella777
says...
12:52pm Tue 15 Jan 13
St Retford wrote:No more girl bands, omg thats awful, how will we cope.
bigfella777 wrote:Yes, the high street electronics market is doing really well at the moment.
I was in a queue of about 30 people for 20 minutes in HMV at Christmas, I wouldnt call it quiet.
What I did see on the shelves was a lot of tat, ie films you have seen a dozen times, 3 for a tenner and stuff, nobody wants it.
They should concentrate on selling more gadgets.
Sadly, pop music has been absolutely shafted by the internet. The kids just don't spend money on it. They don't even download it illegally anymore - it's just there on YouTube whenever they want it and it's a massive problem because how is anyone going to fund the next Girls Aloud on the back of some meagre licence fee that YouTube pays to the music industry? It's a shame because for a 50 years pop music was dead good. Now it's just going to be whatever still sells in the supermarkets that will survive.
Stephen J
says...
1:45pm Tue 15 Jan 13
Subject48
says...
2:55pm Tue 15 Jan 13
supermarkets only sell the manufactured mainstream "pop". Lady gaga type sh1t mtv pushes to 10 year old kids and some random crap you buy your mother in law on your way home because you forgot about her birthday.. .
The entire industry has changed. Not just the retail channels.
The Music Man
says...
3:52pm Tue 15 Jan 13
bigfella777 wrote:should have queued up downstairs - never any wait down there.
I was in a queue of about 30 people for 20 minutes in HMV at Christmas, I wouldnt call it quiet.
What I did see on the shelves was a lot of tat, ie films you have seen a dozen times, 3 for a tenner and stuff, nobody wants it.
They should concentrate on selling more gadgets.
elvisimo says...
7:20am Tue 15 Jan 13
Like jessops, their business model is pretty much obsolete with regard to music and heading that way with regard to films.