HMV

[smurfboy]

I think this comes under the category 'sad but inevitable'... I do hope some kind of rescue deal is done, as it would be a great shame if there were no pure entertainment stores left on the high street (to give straight teenage boys something to do on a Saturday if nothing else  ). What I'd do in their shoes is concentrate on larger stores with wide selection - if you can find it in Tesco you'll probably buy it there whilst picking up your weekly shop (and it'll most likely be cheaper too), whereas you'll deliberately go to somewhere like HMV for something less mainstream. There are also still people out there like my mother, who doesn't know one end of a computer from the other and would never dream of shopping online, who would always use somewhere like HMV for Christmas and birthday gifts. (Ironically she asked me to go and find something for her there a couple of Christmases ago, apparently having completely missed where I work  )

What do you think - will HMV be rescued, or is it destined to go the same way as Woolies and Comet?

[GimmeTheSoddingChoc]

W-e-l-l, I've never really liked HMV because I've always found them really expensive. Saying that, I used to buy from them quite a few years ago. It's the sad truth that all this stuff can be picked up cheaper online and, in Cameron's Britain, cheap seems to be the way to go because the pennies don't stretch as much.

I expect HMV will have an online presence, though. They're brilliant at getting imports!

I think the high street is dying a slow, painful death; it was reported that there are 40+ stores out there that will, in all probability, go this year. But the rich keep getting richer...

[wjp666]

I used to frequent HMV all the time, until MVC came along and undercut them with their prices. And then Amazon came along and showed them just how low prices can go. If you're going to have a high street shop in 2013 it's more than a little silly to be charging people £22 for a DVD when you can grab it online or in a supermarket for half that. I truly believe HMV priced themselves out of the market... something Nintendo learned from in the mid 90's with their SNES games. But yes, it is sad. Now we're left with Smiths and that's about it... and what a miserable alternative that truly is. I'm guessing Blockbuster will be next. And I can't help but feel a tad responsible here due to my Amazon obsession.

[smurfboy]

You're so right about WHSMith. When I was a child and obsessed with pop music, the basement of Smith's in Birmingham (which was entirely devoted to Music and Video) was like Aladdin's Cave to me. I tried to buy a DVD there a couple of Christmases ago and found one rack with a hotchpotch of film and TV titles; not organised by genre or even alphabetised. It made me really quite sad.

[Forth Bridges]

blockbusters is now in Admin, I have notice Tesco is now stocking alot of Mags, i wonder if Tesco is placing  its self just incase.

[wjp666]

Smiths was always my 'local'. I used to collect the points and cash them in for cinema tickets. The one we have now is quite shambolic. The entertainment section isn't even part of Smiths now and some seperate entity where you can't even use WHS vouchers. Gone are the days when I'd hop on a bus to go down town and leave feeling happy if I managed to pick up a 'widescreen presentation' video for less than a tenner, sigh.

[GimmeTheSoddingChoc]

I managed to get the Predator trilogy Blu Ray box set from Amazon for just under £7. How are HMV supposed to compete with that?

[oldspice]

Got to agree about Smiths. Trying to shop in our local one is very frustrating, with no logical product organisation. They don't seem to stock music or DVD products any more and every inch of space is taken up with odds and ends of stationery and confectionary.

Decades ago, when I used to buy a lot of different music and eveything was on vinyl I used to go up west to the HMV at Oxford Street and enjoy hours of flicking through racks of obscure folk LPs and some classical stuff that my local record store didn't stock.  You could always ask their expert staff about recordings you were after and have a good conversation about music with them.

A couple of years back, in my local HMV, I was trying to locate a recording of the Warsaw Concerto. It wasn't in stock on the shelves so I asked a member of staff if I could order a copy. He looked baffled when I repeated the title 'Warsaw Concerto'. I tried again "Warsaw, w-a-r-s-a-w - you know, the capital of Poland?"  He still looked confused. "It's called the Warsaw Concerto, it's quite a well known piece of classical music." Still a dumbstruck expression. I had to spell concerto for him too. He'd never heard of a concerto.

It is sad to see HMV go, but all the music specialists have gone over to online shopping because it delivers what they are looking for. HMV went too mainstream, and diversified into books, Tshirts etc - but at very high prices.

I hope something can be done. We can't have all these people losing their jobs. It's not just online competition - as someone said - Tesco can buy things so much cheaper and just wipe out long-established companies such as HMV.

Tesco is a parasite, feeding on the nation's need to reduce their spending because of the economy.

[GimmeTheSoddingChoc]

Tesco is a parasite, feeding on the nation's need to reduce their spending because of the economy.

I think you could say that of supermarkets in general. They've all done their utmost to destroy local traders and showed no mercy of any sort. We still have local shops that are hanging on, but for how long? People much prefer everything under one roof, rather than a personal, friendly service these days. I'm not excluding myself here, because I use Sainsbury and Waitrose.

[oldspice]

Tesco is a parasite, feeding on the nation's need to reduce their spending because of the economy.

I think you could say that of supermarkets in general. They've all done their utmost to destroy local traders and showed no mercy of any sort. We still have local shops that are hanging on, but for how long? People much prefer everything under one roof, rather than a personal, friendly service these days. I'm not excluding myself here, because I use Sainsbury and Waitrose.

Well, I kind of agree with you, except that Tesco is now the largest private sector employer in the UK and it notorious for squeezing every last drop from a supplier, meaning the supplier has to make cuts to staff or wages and so it goes on.

[smurfboy]

Tesco is a parasite, feeding on the nation's need to reduce their spending because of the economy.

I think you could say that of supermarkets in general. They've all done their utmost to destroy local traders and showed no mercy of any sort. We still have local shops that are hanging on, but for how long? People much prefer everything under one roof, rather than a personal, friendly service these days. I'm not excluding myself here, because I use Sainsbury and Waitrose.

I think what's really killed small local traders is the supermarket 'convenience store' branches (e.g. Tesco Express, Sainsbury's Local). Most people have done their main shop at a big supermarket for years, but would still pop to local shop for essentials. Now Tesco IS the local shop. I regularly used to buy milk and the like from my local convenience store when I lived in Birmingham, but then Tesco Express opened next door - and whilst it's obviously very tough on the sole trader, realistically there was no incentive for me or anyone else to pay an extra 15 or 20p for our pint of milk when the main benefit - the convenience - had gone.

[Forth Bridges]

I had the chance to pop into one of the stores that is alas closing down.  The only cheap stuff ( ie reduced) was stuff no one wanted in the first place...

[oldspice]

I got some real bargains in HMV last week. A pictorial autobiography of Bob Dylan in postcard style for £3, a huge book about Jimmy Page for £4, a couple of classical music CDs for £4 each and a T shirt for my son for £6. I was delighted. The only downside was the terrible, terrible music that assaulted my ears the whole time I was in there.

[wjp666]

I think the absolute worst offender for blaring out inappropriate music full blast to their customers is Game/Gamestation. I know their demographic is teens and tweens but please, have mercy on all the older parents buying COD for their kids!

[oldspice]

I get REALLY fed up with music blasting out wherever I go. I think I have good taste in music and I am very sensitive and cannot stand being rocked by some talentless bimbo who sounds like they are singing through a megaphone.