Photo: Paul Bachmann
UK entertainment retailer HMV has called in the administrators for the second in six years.
According to the BBC, owners Hilco have said stores will continue to trade ‘while negotiations were held with major suppliers and it looked for buyers. Paul McGowan, executive chairman of HMV and Hilco Capital, added:
“Even an exceptionally well-run and much-loved business such as HMV cannot withstand the tsunami of challenges facing UK retailers over the last 12 months on top of such a dramatic change in consumer behaviour in the entertainment market.”
After Hilco took control of HMV in 2013 upon its first administration, the following year proved to be an unusual success-story for the high street as the old brand enjoyed a resurgence as its flagship store moved back to its original Oxford Street address amid a renewed focus on live event hosting.
Such was the promising outlook that McGowan claimed in 2014 it was ‘only a matter of time’ before HMV overtook Amazon to become the UK’s leading entertainment retailer. Indeed, by 2015 it had once again become the biggest outlet for physical music sales.
However, despite still accounting for 31% of all physical music sold in the UK during 2018, with this market predicted to fall by another 17% next year the precipice is insight once again.