HMV about to go bust?

[Lady Whistledown]

To be consigned to the long list of High Street shops that we remember from childhood, either gone bust or swallowed up by other companies.

File between Bejam and FineFare, just alongside OurPrice and Gamley's.

 

[Nathan]

Gamley's have gone bust? Shit, i thought they were still around.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

What was the name of the company that used to be Virgin Megastores? They went bust didn't they, as did Borders the book chain.

So I don't think it's beyond the realms of probability that HMV would go the same way, or become an online retailer only. Their shops are absolute junkyards, full of crap. I can't even remember the last time I bought something from them. If I want a DVD or Blu-ray I'll just go online, or to Tesco/Asda if I need it there and then. And music I just buy as downloads, never CDs any more.

Zavvi. They were always though about £2 more expensive than HMV, so I wasn't suprised when they went bust.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Gamley's have gone bust? Shit, i thought they were still around.

The one in Brighton has been closed for years, I just assumed they had gone to the wall. Too much pressure from Toys R Us I guess.

 

[Stoo82]

The internet to the high street is the same as machines to the factory workers of the Victorian era.

It's a bastards for the workers but the comsumer is happy.

 

[Josky]

HMV won't disappear from the high street. The reasons for Zavvi and Woolworths going were for completely different reasons that the problems that HMV faces. Although there are problems with credit insurance, needless to say HMV's suppliers need HMV as they are one of the few routes to market and physical presences the video and music industry still has.

Blockbuster in the UK has a separate company set up than the US and so even if the US company files a bankruptcy notice, which is increasingly likely, the UK arm should be able to stand alone.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

It would be interesting to fast forward a decade or so and have a look at our high streets.

Sussex Stationers seems set to disappear. Hardly a surprise. You can buy pretty much everything that they stock online or in a large Tesco (for example). Border books was a brilliant shop for hours of perusing and touching books, but it is a damn sight easier and cheaper to shop at Amazon (although I like to do both). The advent of the Kindle will further damage book shops, presumably.

The only occasion I venture into HMV is for a spur of the moment purchase of a heavily reduced boxset. If I planned my life a bit better, I wouldn't need to visit at all.

 

[SittingbourneSeagull]

Time for the Independant Record shop to rise again with the purchase of vinyl once again on the increase. Nothing better then looking through racks of vinyl in a small independantly run record store which promotes and supports local bands.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Hey, what happened to my post above? I typed the name of a well known toy retailer and it seems to have turned into a direct link to that company's website?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Between my two lads and I, we currently have £60 of HMV vouchers recieved as xmas gifts. Might be an idea to use them soonish...

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Hey, what happened to my post above? I typed the name of a well known toy retailer and it seems to have turned into a direct link to that company's website?

It is a new 'skimlink' jobby that Bozza has introduced. There is a sticky about it.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Oh OK, so long as people don't think I was attempting to promote that shitty, Goldstone-inhabiting company.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Oh OK, so long as people don't think I was attempting to promote that shitty, Goldstone-inhabiting company.

The sticky has gone!

Skimlinks

Yes. Don't mention Toys 'r...oops or Focu...argghh, ad finitum.

 

[beorhthelm]

Zavvi. They were always though about £2 more expensive than HMV, so I wasn't suprised when they went bust.

yeah, Zavvi weren't even competitve within the high street. i always recall Virgin was better than HMV, so dont know how they went so wrong so quickly after the buyout.

 

[Gwylan]

.

The only occasion I venture into HMV is for a spur of the moment purchase of a heavily reduced boxset. If I planned my life a bit better, I wouldn't need to visit at all.

... or for buying Christmas presents. The one big advantage stores have over online is that you know that you've got your hands on something. I know that some people have all their Christmas shopping done by the middle of October but we're not that organised and when, in mid-November, you're trying to get hold of a game that's £16 on Amazon but out-of-stock and £19 in HMV but available, then HMV is going to win out.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

The sticky has gone!

Skimlinks

Yes. Don't mention Toys 'r...oops or Focu...argghh, ad finitum.

Right, I get it, hmmm, lets put this to the test, so I know in future some of the companies I might end up shamelessly plugging....

Sainsbury's
Marks & Spencer
Waterstone's
Carphone Warehouse
Ann Summers
Focus
DFS
Burger King
McDonald's
Starbuck's
Wetherspoon's

<posts and waits>

 

[Lady Whistledown]

No, none of them then

 

[Barrel of Fun]

yeah, Zavvi weren't even competitve within the high street. i always recall Virgin was better than HMV, so dont know how they went so wrong so quickly after the buyout.

I think Virgin probably saw what was going to happen and jumped ship at the right time.

... or for buying Christmas presents. The one big advantage stores have over online is that you know that you've got your hands on something. I know that some people have all their Christmas shopping done by the middle of October but we're not that organised and when, in mid-November, you're trying to get hold of a game that's £16 on Amazon but out-of-stock and £19 in HMV but available, then HMV is going to win out.

Yes, good point. There is always the worry with ebay/amazon/iwoot etc that there is going to be a problem.

On the subject of books and Amazon, I now know three Kindle people who have Kindles. Two of them (one being my father) were vehemently against the ideal of the thing and prefer to have a book instead. However, they are a massive hit and e-books have been purchased aplenty. Good news for the author perhaps, but bad news for the high street bookshops.

 

[fire&skill]

I remember walking into the old HMV in Churchill Square [where the Disney Shop is now] wearing my brand new 'Big Country' t-shirt which I'd acquired at the Top Rank Suite gig only the night before. Just as I was about to enter the shop, a seagull dropped a huMUNgous turd on to me. Honestly; I thought I'd been struck with a rounders bat.

 

[pasty]

They've had a terrible Christmas, and not sure the decision to close 60 stores will be enough to keep the banks happy.

Perversely enough the only time I've been into HMV in what seems about the last 100 years was Christmas shopping in December to get Mrs P a CD.