HMV is celebrating the reopening of its flagship store on London’s Oxford Street after a four-year absence, as the music and DVD retailer seeks to cash in on the pre-Christmas high street shopping rush.
Doug Putman, who has engineered a turnaround of HMV in the UK and owns Toys R Us in Canada, said it was a “great moment” to be able to welcome back customers on Friday to its very first store, which opened in 1921.
The shop was opened by the British composer Sir Edward Elgar and has played host to a number of British bands including a rooftop gig by Blur in 1995 and the Spice Girls’ Christmas lights switch-on the following year.
In a throwback to its live gig roots, a number of bands will play at Friday’s store reopening, with Putman saying he hoped the event might draw “crowds which will shut down the street again”.
Putman told PA Media: “It is a pretty great moment for us, coming back here after four years away.”
The entrepreneur, who also runs the Canadian retailer Sunrise Records, stepped in to buy HMV in 2019 after the business collapsed into administration, which forced it to shut the Oxford Street store. While the deal saved about 100 HMV stores, protecting almost 1,500 jobs, 27 locations were forced to close, with the loss of 455 jobs.
Putman, who earlier this year tabled an unsuccessful rescue deal to save the high street chain Wilko, said he was able to reopen the Oxford Street store after striking a better deal with the landlord. Since 2019, when HMV vacated the site, it has been home to an American sweet store called Candy World.
“When we bought the business, we couldn’t keep the site because the rates bill and rent just didn’t make any financial sense,” he said. “Getting another location in London was an immediate priority, and as it became more obvious that the rent and rate situation here had improved and the landlord was open to discussions, we just felt it would be the right move to come back to somewhere with such history to us.”
In April, HMV confirmed it had sealed a deal with the landlord to return to the site as the company retained confidence in a rebound in high street shopping.
“We think our return shows the positive direction things are going in here,” Putman said. “It is all about balance. There is no problem having the odd candy store here but people don’t need tens of them, but also want to see an HMV or a Waterstones.”
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HMV said the shop would become the largest entertainment store in London and was expected to host appearances and signings by renowned musicians to its “purpose-built performance floor”.
It will stock more than 4,000 popular culture merchandise lines, about 20,000 vinyl albums and CDs, in excess of 8,000 Blu-rays and DVDs, as well as music technology products.
