Another High Street Rebrand

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WillPS
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I'm not sure if Currys stores hold stocks of white goods beyond the display models do they? Certainly when I've asked it's been 'order here and we'll deliver in a few days', so no better than AO in that regard.
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WillPS
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HMV have rebranded using the slightly bizarre 80s variant 'the HMV shop' name:
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Philip
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I like how Dire Straits remain an HMV constant whether its 1986 or 2021.
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Laura-1
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Crikey the 'Compact disk' signs in the bottom right photo are pinned onto some unpainted hardboard, surepy that's just not finished yet rather than some kind of retro look.

I like the logo though, would be nice if they do well but it's all to easy to download albums/tracks for free these days so will be interesting to see how the music shop industry will continue.
Dr Lobster*
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It amazes me HMV is still going, the rent on some of their locations must swallow most of the store turnover - I haven’t purchased anything from them in years - and I never see that many people in our local branch when I have wondered in.
gottago
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I'm amazed they've made it to 100 years but fair play to them, it's quite an achievement for a company that's constantly been on the brink of disappearing to continue operating when everything in the modern world is against them and they're actually opening new stores.
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WillPS
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gottago wrote: Mon 26 Jul, 2021 13.55 I'm amazed they've made it to 100 years but fair play to them, it's quite an achievement for a company that's constantly been on the brink of disappearing to continue operating when everything in the modern world is against them and they're actually opening new stores.
Obsolescence has only been a feature of the last decade or so of HMV's life. In 2009 they actually bought a dozen or so Zavvi stores, all in towns where they already had a presence - which struck me at the time as an unbelievable act of hubris.

The stores they are opening are either replacing existing stores or stores which have recently been closed.
Dr Lobster* wrote: Mon 26 Jul, 2021 13.18 It amazes me HMV is still going, the rent on some of their locations must swallow most of the store turnover - I haven’t purchased anything from them in years - and I never see that many people in our local branch when I have wondered in.
It's a buyers market right now if you're looking at retail space to lease. Most landlords with HMV as a tenant know they will struggle to get that space reoccupied if HMV leave - more than once I've seen signage go up declaring a branch to be in the process of closing only for the signage to come down a few weeks later and the store remain, so you can be pretty sure they are turning the screw on negotiations.
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JAS84
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Haha, so landlords were trying to make them pay more, HMV refused and so announced a store closure, only the greedy landlords couldn't find another tenant so were forced to accept HMV's offer? It would serve them right if HMV did close (and reopen somewhere else?) and the landlord ends up without any rental income at all.
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dosxuk
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Laura-1 wrote: Sun 25 Jul, 2021 20.34 Crikey the 'Compact disk' signs in the bottom right photo are pinned onto some unpainted hardboard, surepy that's just not finished yet rather than some kind of retro look.
The bare chipboard is part of a look, you can even buy very expensive stuff which has been treated to be properly smooth rather than the normal rough finish.

They're clearly going for the "local record store" look here, the unfinished wood fitting in perfectly.
allwillbewell
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JAS84 wrote: Tue 27 Jul, 2021 01.35 Haha, so landlords were trying to make them pay more, HMV refused and so announced a store closure, only the greedy landlords couldn't find another tenant so were forced to accept HMV's offer? It would serve them right if HMV did close (and reopen somewhere else?) and the landlord ends up without any rental income at all.
The Oxford St store in London has been sitting empty since HMV left. The landlord now has to pay for security after a protest group gained access a few months ago. You have to ask who the landlord is to be so greedy and prefer a shell than a lively store. The last time I was in there was in 2019 when it was announced they were going bust, very sad to see the staff behind the tills trying to get the loyalty card points to deduct before it all got turned off for customers.
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WillPS
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allwillbewell wrote: Tue 27 Jul, 2021 12.25
JAS84 wrote: Tue 27 Jul, 2021 01.35 Haha, so landlords were trying to make them pay more, HMV refused and so announced a store closure, only the greedy landlords couldn't find another tenant so were forced to accept HMV's offer? It would serve them right if HMV did close (and reopen somewhere else?) and the landlord ends up without any rental income at all.
The Oxford St store in London has been sitting empty since HMV left. The landlord now has to pay for security after a protest group gained access a few months ago. You have to ask who the landlord is to be so greedy and prefer a shell than a lively store. The last time I was in there was in 2019 when it was announced they were going bust, very sad to see the staff behind the tills trying to get the loyalty card points to deduct before it all got turned off for customers.
In fairness, in common with the rest of the world, the landlord at Oxford Street probably didn't expect a global pandemic last year...

It's perfectly reasonable for a commercial landlord for such a prime unit to try and get the maximum they can for it. I'm not sure why you think busyness/activeness should really come in to equation for them at all.
JAS84 wrote: Tue 27 Jul, 2021 01.35 Haha, so landlords were trying to make them pay more, HMV refused and so announced a store closure, only the greedy landlords couldn't find another tenant so were forced to accept HMV's offer? It would serve them right if HMV did close (and reopen somewhere else?) and the landlord ends up without any rental income at all.
That's your supposition, not mine. Equally possible that HMV's lease was approaching a natural conclusion and rather than renewing they chose to announce the store was closing, and the landlord chose to act to retain them. Both HMV and the landlords are businesses, neither have to work with one another and neither is less inherently greedy than the other.
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