HMV to appoint administrators

9:23am Tuesday 15th January 2013 in Business news

STRUGGLING music retailer HMV is expecting to appoint administrators today.

Stores are expected to continue trading while the administrators seek a buyer for the business, directors said.

The company warned shareholders in December that as a result of current market trading conditions, it faced material uncertainties and probably would not be able to keep up bank payments in January.

The company announced today that it has been able to reach a position where it feels able to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection.

It has suspended its shares on the stock exchange and said it intends to appoint administrators Nick Edwards, Neville Kahn and Rob Harding, partners of Deloitte LLP to the company.

Comments(15)

TheotherChucklebrother says...
9:43am Tue 15 Jan 13

How are so many businesses allowed to get into so much debt? If I had a shop and couldn't pay for it I would be shut within a week, but big businesses are allowed to continue trading with 60-380 MILLION debts for over a year.

Tesco next? Let's hope it paves the way back to the good old days, good old butchers/grocers/bak
ers etc..

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akuma says...
10:10am Tue 15 Jan 13

While its not nice as its peoples jobs that are potentially at risk, HMV as a whole have had every oppertunity to turn there business around over the years.

But for some reason they have continued to stick to the same tired 80's business model and it would appear there time is finally up.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why the senior management at HMV did not change with the times over the years?

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NoNewsIsGoodNews says...
10:19am Tue 15 Jan 13

I have to agree with Akuma.

I went in just before Christmas, and it looked just the same as it did in 1990. Just think about how much music and technology has moved on in that time.

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chunkyyorkie says...
10:23am Tue 15 Jan 13

Jessops last week and HMV this week these were two previous giants of the High Street that have lost out to the internet sales. On-line businesses are taking more and more market share because customers are choosing to go for lower end price.
This is of immediate benefit to them, but at the detriment to society. We are making more people unemployed who are therefore not earning and therefore no longer spending and consequently going onto benefits; making it a slippery downward spiral. The health of our communities and ultimately the country suffers because of it.

On-line shopping is great for low prices for now, but when there is no choice for us consumers because high street shops disappeared….just watch the prices rocket on-line then! There will no doubt be many more stores go over the next few months as all retailers struggle but it’s the old adage “Use them or lose them”. We should all think carefully about our shopping habits.

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akuma says...
10:46am Tue 15 Jan 13

I disagree to an extent.

People will always need shops, especially for clothes and other goods that can only really be purchased in a physical medium.

But for goods like electrical and games, you know exactly what you are getting, there is no need to try it on for fit and style.

Also the higher prices in high street stores is not the only factor, its the cost of getting there.

Take the average XBOX game. They are usually £5 to £20 cheaper online. Then there is the cost of driving into town, probably £3 to £5 in fuel costs, and then at least another £3 in parking. Overall buying online can save you 50% if not more, and as much as I love shops, I'm not going to pay THAT much more to keep them in business.

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Jeff_li says...
10:55am Tue 15 Jan 13

Firstly, you have to feel sorry for the staff who will now be unemployed. Not nice.

But HMV didn't believe that mp3s would take off until it was too late and it has cost them. Clearly the senior management were thinking CDs remain the future - but yet would sell iTunes gift cards at the counter!

Similar to Borders, they never invested in the e-commerce side of things. Refused to believe people would buy their products online until it was too late.

HMV killed off the independent record shops in town centres in the 90s and now it's happened to them. I have little sympathy except for the staff.

Evolve or get left behind.

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NoNewsIsGoodNews says...
11:01am Tue 15 Jan 13

On-line shopping is great for low prices for now, but when there is no choice for us consumers because high street shops disappeared….just watch the prices rocket on-line then! There will no doubt be many more stores go over the next few months as all retailers struggle but it’s the old adage “Use them or lose them”. We should all think carefully about our shopping habits.


The prices can't rocket online as there is far to much competition.

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Even AndyD says...
11:30am Tue 15 Jan 13

Totally inevitable when digital sales of music now dominate the market. Virgin shipped out in good time, was amazed to see HMV trying to stick it out when their business model appeared to a good decade out of date. Hard on those staff effected, especially with the recession - but the net is revolutionalising how we shop and that cannot be avoided.

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bob the builder says...
12:20pm Tue 15 Jan 13

I'll take a guess on the next high street store to go into administration - BHS another dinosaur from the 80s.

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Chrido81 says...
12:24pm Tue 15 Jan 13

I also have no sympathy except for the staff.

To those who say that we owe it to the high street to keep the businesses there, they are wrong. Businesses owe it to US to keep THEM in the black. If you expect us to spend our money in-store, give us an experience which makes it worthwhile. Better points collection or in-store exclusives etc.

I saw not too long back that a Sony PSVita Wifi only was exactly the same price as the Wifi + 3G model. That to me, shows that HMV is being run by clueless idiots in suits and are not deserving of my money.

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Garrowby Turnoff says...
5:48pm Tue 15 Jan 13

I've got a Squeezebox and a Napster account that costs £10 per month so I never have to buy a music CD or an audio download ever again. My instantly playable list of musical soundbites is endless and completely up to date all the time. Even iTunes is in danger of extinction when streaming entertainment via your home WiFi becomes the norm.

All things must pass.

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Silver says...
10:20pm Tue 15 Jan 13

Maybe James Alexander will take note of what happens when you live simply in debt what happens next?

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jgycfc says...
12:01am Wed 16 Jan 13

Not shopped in HMV for years. Had it coming. Agree that BHS is probably the next contender, along with WHSmiths. (Tesco & the internet have got this all covered).

HMV properly had it coming. It's sad for the staff, but is anyone surprised? The best thing that happened to York was when Virgin Megastores and Borders came along and they had to chop £5 off everything as arrogance caught up with them.

Recently they attempted to get into loyalty cards (And MP3s) but both were poor. In fact I'd rate HMV as the worst loyalty card scheme that exists on the high street.

Again bad for the staff but will anyone miss the company?

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Magicman! says...
4:18am Wed 16 Jan 13

I wanted a CD a few weeks ago by a well known vocal trance artist... Went into HMV and they had nothing like it or anything at all similar - so I go to Manchester, which has a peoper dance music scene and the HMV there is bigger and sells Vinyls - they didn't have any of what I was after either. It is for things like this that they have failed, lack of variety. If you're not into Pop, Rock or Metal there is very very little they offer and so consumers are forced onto shopping online (which can be harder as "Browsing" isn't the same online as it is in a shop, and many online stores don't offer a 'preview' facility where you can hear clips of the tracks to see if it's what you want before buying). And when you buy online then you have to wait for it to come in the post and you could have something come with a cracked case.

A physical shop will never get the same bargain prices as an online retailler simply due to the turnover for staff and building costs - so innovation is required. If an absolutely massive central warehouse is required to bulk buy and get things as cheap as possible is required then get one, and then when customers use the store give them a good shopping experience - not overloud music catering to a very specific taste for example - when offering electronic devices offer good examples for all budget ranges and also (this being important) offer devices for those who do not wish to get locked into the Apple domain of often inferior products and service. Innovation and Variety.

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capt spaulding says...
9:09am Wed 16 Jan 13

Silver wrote:
Maybe James Alexander will take note of what happens when you live simply in debt what happens next?
Well said silver, James Alexander positively promotes the "lets go bankrupt model of business"
And why not ! Its not his money and there is no liability on him. We the taxpayers will have no redress whatsoever. He will dust himself off and move on when the last rat leaves the sinking ship.

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