HMV enters administration

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.

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.


Not totally unexpected to be honest, HMV has always been too pricey but this now means that other than supermarkets GAME is the sole high street trader of new games.....

postal service will need shaking up, if game goes under which is a big possibility everything will become online buying which will hit royal mail hard. shame i got some really good deals in HMV before christmas.

Thats a real shame but they are unfortunately a big victim when it comes to piracy.

1. Not many people buy music no more in the form of CD's its all just downloads

2. Films are mainly watched for free online if you know the right sites or watched on Netflix or Lovefilm

3. There games are overpriced even pre-owned games

not a surprise, but a shame all the same,

i used to loive spending an hour in HMV while the missis shoe shopped lol

Sign of the times and unfortunately, HMV didn't move with them. Still a shame though

Reaper FWG wrote:i used to loive spending an hour in HMV while the missis shoe shopped lol

This

HMV and Game are good a relieving the boredom of shopping with the missus, it will just be Game now

and CEX but its shite

It was like going Asda with your mum when your a kid and spending the time looking round the CD's and Games whilst she did the groceries

NightHaze FWG wrote:It was like going Asda with your mum when your a kid and spending the time looking round the CD's and Games whilst she did the groceries

Good times

Wheeto wrote:

NightHaze FWG wrote:It was like going Asda with your mum when your a kid and spending the time looking round the CD's and Games whilst she did the groceries

Good times

Good times? I reckon Chris was referring to the weekend just gone......

Haha! Been on the cards a while, i can see a definite move towards digital downloads for games as well instead of buying the hard copy

N1NJA FWG wrote:

Wheeto wrote:

NightHaze FWG wrote:It was like going Asda with your mum when your a kid and spending the time looking round the CD's and Games whilst she did the groceries

Good times

Good times? I reckon Chris was referring to the weekend just gone......

i understood that someone had bought HMV?