HMV to reopen flagship London Oxford Street store after ‘dramatic turnaround’ under new owner
Music and entertainment giant HMV will reopen its flagship London store on Oxford Street after four years, in wake of a “dramatic turnaround” under new ownership.
The move comes after the company fell into administration in 2019, shuttering its store on the high street, partially due to the increase in streaming, which dented physical sales of music.
But HMV said it has now signed a lease to reopen the store, in what it describes as a “dramatic turnaround” of the business under owner Doug Putman, who took over in 2019.
“The expansion of our fan-focused pop culture offer is really working for us and the reopening of our flagship represents the culmination of a good few years of hard work,” Putman said.
“We are also opening stores in Europe this year, so while it is the culmination of one phase of work, more excitingly we see it as the launchpad for an exciting new era for HMV,” he added.
The store will stock pop culture merchandise, vinyl, film, TV and music technology, the company said.
“It’s also particularly pleasing it is replacing one of the many US candy stores which sprang up during the pandemic,” said councillor Geoff Barraclough, Westminster City Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development.
HMV currently operates 120 shops in the UK. The Oxford Street site was HMV’s first store in 1921.
“The previous vacancy and short term candy store tenant was the focus of the challenges facing Oxford Street. hmv reopening along with many other global transactions in progress, demonstrates that Oxford Street has recovered,” added Sam Foyle, co-head of prime global retail at Savills, acting on behalf of the private landlord for the Oxford Street site.