[img]http://imgkk.com/i/ewc1.png[/img]
[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21021073[/url]
[quote=BBC News][B]Music and DVD chain HMV, which employs about 4,350 staff, has confirmed it will appoint an administrator, making it the latest High Street casualty.[/B]
Deloitte will run the 239-store chain while it assesses prospects for the business and seeks potential buyers.
Trading in HMV shares on the London Stock Exchange are being suspended, the company said in a statement.
Started in 1921, HMV became one of the biggest names on the High Street, but has struggled against online retailing.
The company has been in financial crisis for many months and on 13 December warned that it faced a possible breach of bank loan agreements.
In a statement late on Monday the company said: "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..."
The statement continued that the board "understand that it is the intention of the administrators, once appointed, to continue to trade whilst they seek a purchaser for the business".
The retailer, whose first store was opened in London's Oxford Street in 1921, has faced intense competition from online retailers, digital downloads, and supermarkets in recent years.
As its debts mounted, HMV sold off parts of the business, notably its live entertainment arm and the Waterstones book chain.
Last week, HMV announced a month-long sale with 25% off prices, sparking worries that the company needed to shift stock after poor Christmas trading.
The company's troubles underline the gloom on the High Street and come after a string of high-profile failures, including the closure last week of camera retailer Jessops and Comet's collapse last year.
Neil Saunders, the managing director of retail analyst firm Conlumino, said he felt the appointment of administrators at HMV "was always inevitable".
He said: "While many failures of recent times have been, at least in part, driven by the economy, HMV's reported demise is a structural failure.
"In the digital era where 73.4% of music and film are downloaded, HMV's business model has simply become increasingly irrelevant and unsustainable.
"Coming hard on the heels of the failure of Comet and Jessops this latest potential administration demonstrates the significant pressure on retailers, many of which are contending with a consumer downturn alongside structural shifts in the sector."
He said that although the HMV brand "certainly has some value" for potential buyers, the current business model was dead. "The bottom line is that there is no real future for physical retail in the music sector," he said.[/quote]
Wow this year's going to shit real fast
[quote]HMV has faced intense competition from the boom in buying music and DVD online.[/quote]
Maybe they should've thought about this before charging insane prices for stuff.
Can I still use my gift card?
Shit son
I feel bad for those who will lose their jobs because of it, but it was inevitable. Buying music/DVDs online was both cheaper and easier to do than shopping there. There was no reason to shop at HMV over anywhere else
I'm not really surprised, most of their stuff was overpriced.
[QUOTE=Scrimp;39219172]Can I still use my gift card?[/QUOTE]
Your gift card will self destruct in 3...2...
Saw this coming a mile away.
Well that sucks. Where else am I gonna get my cheapo dvd's on holiday now?
Pretty inevitable really. HMV's been struggling to keep up for ages.
HMV is the only place I can buy music and feel posh about it :(
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;39219186]Your gift card will self destruct in 3...2...[/QUOTE]
Sheeit, I'm going down first thing tomorrow.
Uh oh, my dad still has a tenner left on a gift card, better tell him.
So that's barely a month and we've had two high street causalities already. 2012 looks so good for traditional retailers.
What's HMV like in Britain? The ones in Ireland have the best deals around, it's actually on par with online shopping if not cheaper.
Think I'll go buy Dredd first thing in the morning seeing as I have a day off.
[QUOTE=Mabus;39219396]What's HMV like in Britain? The ones in Ireland have the best deals around, it's actually on par with online shopping if not cheaper.[/QUOTE]
The ones in England have the worst deals around, it's never on par with online shopping and is always more expensive.
Is this just the HMV in Britain, or does this cover the international ones too? HMV is like the only decent CD store in Canada.
[QUOTE=Noss;39219563]The ones in England have the worst deals around, it's never on par with online shopping and is always more expensive.[/QUOTE]
not always true - often have good offers on dvd box sets
is 'administration' British government lingo for bankrupt?
[QUOTE=jamzzster;39219232]HMV is the only place I can buy music and feel posh about it :([/QUOTE]
What HMV branch is that? Mine is a chav place, with their all black interior and all-the-time rap music in the background.
my local HMV is pretty nice, but I haven't bought anything from there in years
Guess this means my headphone insurance with them is now void.
[QUOTE=Moby-;39219659]Guess this means my headphone insurance with them is now void.[/QUOTE]
But my earphones [I]always[/I] break within a year, I need that insurance!
This is sad though, all these lost jobs over the past year :c
[QUOTE=meppers;39219615]is 'administration' British government lingo for bankrupt?[/QUOTE]
They hire an Administer to pay back all creditors and liquidate their assets, all buildings and stock become cash and they buy their way out of being bankrupt.
It's like at the end of monopoly and you land on someone elses hotel but you just about manage to pay it off by mortgaging everything you own.
They'll still be able to have their most profitable stores open to try and claw their way back.
I've never bought anything out of HMV but earphones, I just go and browse at the DVD's that I already own every so often.
More jobs lost.
[QUOTE=markg06;39219169]Maybe they should've thought about this before charging insane prices for stuff.[/QUOTE]
Which HMV have you been to? The one at my mall (closing in a week mind you) is selling most DVDs for 10-15$, Blu-rays for just 5$ more and box sets varying from 30-50$.
I hope I can still spend my £30 gift voucher tomorrow
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