HMV
RDW
Posts: 1,900
Looks like HMV will follow Jessops into Administration tomorrow:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... hours.html
I'd hope for a better outcome, but it's hard to see this one ending well.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... hours.html
I'd hope for a better outcome, but it's hard to see this one ending well.
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One of many many more that will go the same way, self perpetuating cycle, more shops close, less choice, more reason to shop on line, more stores close etc etc
Eventually, even the Costas and Charity shops will go!
Out town centers and hyper stores - free parking, bigger choice, less walking around .. no brainer and by the time councils and government wake up- if it isnt already - it ll be far too late.0 -
Administrators are to try and help HMV pay off £176 million in debts.
Although, knowing HMV, the debts are probably a lot cheaper online.0 -
Failed to adapt (Jessops and HMV), so inevitable really. Not the fault of the workforce, but they are the ones to bear the brunt.0
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Last time I tried to buy an album from HMV (Diamond Dogs) would have cost me about £15. Cost about £3 off Amazon. Surprised they've lasted this long."A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"
PTP Runner Up 20150 -
Bike shops will start disappearing soon as well. You only have to look on these Fora to see how people use their LBS as a showroom to try stuff and then go and buy online. Somewhere down the line there will be nowhere to go to look at electronic goods / bikes / jewellery, we will just have High Street repair shops and everything will be bought online because people are more concerned with saving a few quid than buying from people with knowledge and experience.0
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Pross wrote:Bike shops will start disappearing soon as well.
No they won't IMO.
You cannot 'digitise' the item sold so there will always be a fair number of people who will want to touch/feel/buy. Your point about looking in one place and buying online is however a fair one, but its a stage like any other that people pass through. People starting out cycling will go through several stages;
1. Buy from Halfords - kids bike to get them going.
1a. Buy a Boardman bike from Halfords
2. Buy from local bike shop - they now know enough to know not to go to Halfords anymore but are not confident enough to build their own of go for uncommon brands.
4. Buy something from somewhere that nobody in the street will have heard of.
5. Buy the bits from anywhere/everywhere and build their own or keep replacing bits on their existing bikes.0 -
Pross wrote:because people are more concerned with saving a few quid than buying from people with knowledge and experience.
In my experience, the local staff in a lot of specialist shops know less than I do, and I know not a lot !0 -
I think their mistake was in trying to diversify into consumer electronics.. another doomed market which can't compete with online... my local store has a massive section wasted on Ipods, Tablets, Speakers, Games consoles etc.0
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Alinshearah wrote:Administrators are to try and help HMV pay off £176 million in debts.
Although, knowing HMV, the debts are probably a lot cheaper online.
Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי0 -
For a lot of stuff I don't think it necessarily is cheaper on line. I bought my bike locally because it was the best deal on what I wanted, when I was looking at getting a set of Cosmic Carbones a year or two later the same shop beat any internet price. And even when shops are that little bit more expensive with plenty of things the ability to try it for size, see it in the flesh and get it on the day is worth a small premium. There's an assumption that buying on line will be cheaper but a lot of times it just isn't. Last year I bought all the Xmas presents for the kids and missus locally - pretty much got everything I wanted, didn't have to sweat on delivery for Christmas and I don't think it cost me any more.
Yes there are occasions when the internet just has better deals but I think often it's no more money or hassle to visit a shop - it's just sitting in front of a PC it's easy to click buy.
it's a hard life if you don't weaken.0 -
I think I've still got £5 on a gift card somewhere. Better dig that out and buy something.
It's interesting that HMV was heralded as the place people went to to buy records and it's a real shame it's closing. They said the same thing about Woolworths when that closed.
I always foung the HMV staff very knowledgeable about music, but how are you going to compete with online shops that can sell the same product (albeit with some minor differences), instantly, for less? As if kids are going to get on a bus and go to town to buy a single any more! Spotify it for free or download it for 79p.0 -
The High Street as we remember it is on it's dying breaths.
This is bad not only for society as people no longer socialise together but it means more delivery vans on the road.
Look down your High Street. A few big name stores, a lot of charity shops, a lot of closed shops, some take-aways, some pubs (mostly on the verge of closing too), some bookies and some cafes (which will go with the shops).
Out of town centres will be hit too. Everyone is cosy in their house.
Most people moaning only have to look in the mirror to see who to blame. :oops:
PS:- I wouldn't trust vouchers from anywhere anymore. Use ém or lose ém.None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.0 -
Too late for this I think, they're not accepting gift vouchers anymore.GiantMike wrote:I think I've still got £5 on a gift card somewhere. Better dig that out and buy something.'Hello to Jason Isaacs'0 -
schlepcycling wrote:
Too late for this I think, they're not accepting gift vouchers anymore.GiantMike wrote:I think I've still got £5 on a gift card somewhere. Better dig that out and buy something.
I thought they were staying open trying to get a buyer sorted out. Oh well, just goes to show that nothing is sacred any more. I had hoped to hand down the HMV gift-token to future Giantmike generations.
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GiantMike wrote:schlepcycling wrote:
Too late for this I think, they're not accepting gift vouchers anymore.GiantMike wrote:I think I've still got £5 on a gift card somewhere. Better dig that out and buy something.
I thought they were staying open trying to get a buyer sorted out. Oh well, just goes to show that nothing is sacred any more. I had hoped to hand down the HMV gift-token to future Giantmike generations.
Unfortunately one of an administrator's goals is to look after creditors...and consumer creditors (which is effectely what you are with a gift voucher) are at the bottom of the list. Not that you can get much in HMV for a fiver but if you have a look online...oh, hang on.0 -
daviesee wrote:The High Street as we remember it is on it's dying breaths.
I think it's the end of the 'consumer high street' era.
In my end of Hove, it's entirely possible to buy fresh fish, meat, veg, bread, and so on in one little parade of shops - the butchers is award winning, the fishmongers recommended by Rick Stein, the Italian deli run by a mad Italian guy who makes most of it himself. There's an off-license, a coffee/tea shop, and round the corner a greengrocers. The LBS is across the road from them. The only thing we need the supermarket for is shampoo, washing powder, and bits of that ilk.
They're there because they're very good, very knowledgeable, and sell goods of a quality massively higher than the supermarket at a comparable price. The fishmonger, for example, knows when the fish was landed (sometimes even knowing the boat that landed it), what it goes well with, when he can get me a certain fish, and smokes his own mackerel, haddock, and kippers.
Can a supermarket compete with that? Absolutely not, so I don't shop there.
Do I need that sort of service from a seller of CDs, DVDs, books, etc? Well sort of - but the thing which irks me about the retail sector at the moment is the - 'oh woe, we can't compete with Amazon's (for example) prices' when in fact for a lot things, Amazon is not noticeably cheaper than anywhere else. Fundamentally, Amazon gives me a staggering selection, with peer reviews, and recommends related stuff I might also like to consider... a bit like the Fishmonger or the Butcher.
Like Jessops, HMV was a throwback to a previous time, and it hadn't evolved. Shopping trends overtook it, and then a recession landed on its head.0 -
Yep, I wouldn't disagree with that. Having been given an HMV gift card for Christmas, I looked to see if I could buy something and redeem it online. Nope, had to be used at a till because HMV weren't set up to redeem cards online, unlike Waterstones etc. If it were an extra-special shop more people might have been prepared to make concessions for out-of-date systems. The ones I've been into haven't been in the 'extra-special' category by a long chalk.dynamicbrick wrote:Like Jessops, HMV was a throwback to a previous time, and it hadn't evolved. Shopping trends overtook it, and then a recession landed on its head.0 -
Bobbinogs wrote:GiantMike wrote:schlepcycling wrote:
Too late for this I think, they're not accepting gift vouchers anymore.GiantMike wrote:I think I've still got £5 on a gift card somewhere. Better dig that out and buy something.
I thought they were staying open trying to get a buyer sorted out. Oh well, just goes to show that nothing is sacred any more. I had hoped to hand down the HMV gift-token to future Giantmike generations.
Unfortunately one of an administrator's goals is to look after creditors...and consumer creditors (which is effectely what you are with a gift voucher) are at the bottom of the list. Not that you can get much in HMV for a fiver but if you have a look online...oh, hang on.
I heard Jessops were doing that last week. It seems bizarre that someone could have bought a voucher which is effectively paying for goods to the same value and then it isn't honoured. Surely this is some sort of corporate theft?0 -
Reading Sky news last night, its explained that the HMV were the latest "Big Name" retailer to go under, following Jessops. The Current Chief Exec of HMV just happens to be the former Chief Exec at Jessops.
Not saying he is to blame, as surely this has been on the cards for years.
To the point earlier that people prefer to touch/feel a product before they buy.... Tell that to DFS, SCS, etc.. sofa shops, who spend £thousands per month promoting their websites, as people do actually buy without touching. Argos have used the whole - touch after you buy business model forever.
Having said that, I do think that if you're going to spend more than £1000 on a bike, most people will want to touch it. The problem is, anything less than that, (which is the probably the majority of bike shop sales) and people will buy online.Cycling prints
Band of Climbers0 -
A mate of mine sells cars, has done for years.
He reckons more than 85% of people never even bother test driving a car before shelling out £10,000+ on one.0 -
dynamicbrick wrote:A mate of mine sells cars, has done for years.
He reckons more than 85% of people never even bother test driving a car before shelling out £10,000+ on one.
test driving is the fun bit though?0 -
It's a problem of near infinite escalation. I still bemoan the small independent record shops being forced to close by the opening of HMV shops on the High Street!Wilier Izoard XP0
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HMV weren't exactly 'johnny come latelys', they started out as one shop in the 1920s and have been on the High Street since the 60s (seeing off challenges by new boys such as Virgin Megastores and Our Price).0
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They didn't see i-Tunes as viable threat. They actually released their own download website (far too late) but it was more expensive than i-Tunes and the downloads themselves were not compatible with iPods!
They also didn't consider the growth of broadband speeds and how that may affect the way we receive our media. We should be watching "HMV movies" on our consoles not "Love-Film" or "Netflix"
They were far to complacent and reacted far to slowly.
Anyone know what happens with Waterstones? Or did they sell that asset off?0 -
pitchshifter wrote:Anyone know what happens with Waterstones? Or did they sell that asset off?
No idea as to the financial status of Waterstones, but surely, that cannot have too much longer left in this digital age of Amazon, Kindles etc... Although perhaps most of their customers are of an elder generation not yet adapted to digital?Cycling prints
Band of Climbers0 -
y33stu wrote:pitchshifter wrote:Anyone know what happens with Waterstones? Or did they sell that asset off?
No idea as to the financial status of Waterstones, but surely, that cannot have too much longer left in this digital age of Amazon, Kindles etc... Although perhaps most of their customers are of an elder generation not yet adapted to digital?
Hmmm I don't know, a lot of people still feel attached to the physical book. There must be a lot of casual readers out there who wouldn't bother buying a kindle if they were buying 3-4 books a year?0 -
An interesting take on it here by the bloke who ran their advertising for 25 of their heyday years.pitchshifter wrote:They didn't see i-Tunes as viable threat. They actually released their own download website (far too late) but it was more expensive than i-Tunes and the downloads themselves were not compatible with iPods!
They also didn't consider the growth of broadband speeds and how that may affect the way we receive our media. We should be watching "HMV movies" on our consoles not "Love-Film" or "Netflix"
They were far to complacent and reacted far to slowly.
Anyone know what happens with Waterstones? Or did they sell that asset off?
And yes, Waterstones was sold off to pay off debts. As mentioned in my earlier post, interesting that Waterstones will allow you to use vouchers for online purchases, HMV wouldn't. Maybe a symptom of differing attitudes to the web phenomenon, and why Waterstones might be in with a better chance of survival.0 -
HMV sold waterstones for £53m back in may 2011 to a russian billionaire, they seem to have adapted well. You can buy Kindles there and sit and have a costa coffee while you download a book from ethier waterstones own library or from amazon. Not sure how great a business model that is but time will tell.0
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I fear for the trditional high street, it's very sad to see shops closing one after another be they chains or indies.
Tail end Charlie
The above post may contain traces of sarcasm or/and bullsh*t.0
