Does anyone still shop at HMV?

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Just wondering as it seems some shops are likely to close

It will also launch a social networking site for music and film enthusiasts.

Haha.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 08:55 (6 years ago) Permalink

I still shop at the Oxford Circus branch. No doubt that will be deemed "unprofitable" and will be closed to make way for another Foot Locker, or similar.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:00 (6 years ago) Permalink

Though I may stop doing so if they don't stop their STUPID live sessions when I am trying to look for things and half the CD section is closed off because of a personal appearance by fucking Biffy Clyro!

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:02 (6 years ago) Permalink

There's no record shops in my town. Hasn't been for some years now. I had hoped an HMV would move in but there's no chance of that now , is there?
It's all coffee and mobile phone shops amongst the usual long-standing stores in Hamilton now.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:04 (6 years ago) Permalink

HMV is pretty ace, better than Virgin.

― the next grozart, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:14 (6 years ago) Permalink

Which is why I would like an HMV here and not Virgin.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:15 (6 years ago) Permalink

HMV, or at least the glasgow argyle st branch, is absolute cobblers for music (what jazz section doesn't have any sun ra???), but good for its DVD sales. HMV oxford circus is pretty good overall though.

Though I may stop doing so if they don't stop their STUPID live sessions when I am trying to look for things and half the CD section is closed off because of a personal appearance by fucking Biffy Clyro!

...I've had the same experiences with a-ha, jamelia, joss stone, the view, etc, etc. seconded with extreme vigour.

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:34 (6 years ago) Permalink

In the end I fled to the Piccadilly branch of HMV and thankfully they had one copy of the Marnie Stern CD in stock.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:38 (6 years ago) Permalink

if you're in that area of town, why not go to selectadisc? usually cheaper, better selection, and less ethically troubling.

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:39 (6 years ago) Permalink

I did, but they didn't have the Marnie Stern CD.

And NOBODY had the Scars CD - did somebody just make this up?

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:42 (6 years ago) Permalink

shocking! maybe they've gone downhill since sister ray took over.

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:44 (6 years ago) Permalink

>Though I may stop doing so if they don't stop their STUPID live sessions when I am trying to look for things and half the CD section is closed off because of a personal appearance by fucking Biffy Clyro!

Yeah, live music for free. Who needs it?

― harveyw, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:46 (6 years ago) Permalink

good live music for free = hurrah!

bad live music getting between me and the 'k' section = boo!

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:48 (6 years ago) Permalink

Do HMV sell downloads?

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:49 (6 years ago) Permalink

Exactly. Biffy Clyro should sod off and play at Cardiff HMV instead.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:50 (6 years ago) Permalink

As I recall the last branch of Our Price to stay open was the one in Hamilton. It was doomed, of course.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:51 (6 years ago) Permalink

Biffy Clyro should sod off and play at Cardiff HMV instead.

What have the Welsh ever done to you to deserve that?

― Billy Dods, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:55 (6 years ago) Permalink

Our Price became "Sanity Entertainment" It was actually better because it sold slightly more obscure cds and it wasn't all DVD's and Mobile Phones like our price. Infact it stocked a lot more cd's than Our Price did. It shut down a good few years ago though.
Impulse was gone by the late 90s. Now it's Woolies, Smiths and the supermarkets only.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 09:55 (6 years ago) Permalink

That was it, Sanity Entertainment; I knew it changed hands but couldn't remember what it was called.

Impulse was a good wee shop. I remember buying the Datapanik In The Year Zero 12-inch and similar delights out of there with my pocket money way back in the day.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:01 (6 years ago) Permalink

Do you ever visit up here now? The fact that Hamilton has a better shopping centre than Motherwell, Airdrie and Coatbridge shows how bad they all are.
If there was a rail link to EK i'm sure no one would ever shop here.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:03 (6 years ago) Permalink

there is still an impulse at paddington (i think) station.

sanitary entertainment was cackers.

and yeah i think selectadisc has gone a bit rubbish, it's still good but i remember the days i couldn't leave that shop without having spent at least £40 on incredible goodies. download access might be a factor now but when i go in i can never find anything i really want.

― the next grozart, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:04 (6 years ago) Permalink

that's sad...I moved out of london around the same time that it changed hands. maybe the withdrawal of my not-inconsiderable custom is a factor in their decline. sorry.

sister ray was always balls though, so I'm not surprised.

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:08 (6 years ago) Permalink

I hope they don't make the place more like Virgin, which is fucking useless. HMV is OK, generally.

― Pashmina, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:09 (6 years ago) Permalink

My mum lives in Bothwell and shops in Hamilton so I still visit there quite a lot.

At least EK has an HMV, though it's a fairly bog standard one.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:11 (6 years ago) Permalink

Virgin at Piccadilly (Tower as was) is a joke. Last weekend I seriously wondered aloud why they were bothering to keep the place open. Go up to the jazz section and it's like the bailiffs have just paid a visit. Virtually nothing left.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:12 (6 years ago) Permalink

Virgin is just useless allround these days. See television and internet.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:13 (6 years ago) Permalink

I still go in HMV and Virgin in Exeter probably at least once a week, but the vast majority of my music purchasing is done at Amazon. I have an emusic subscription but rarely use it. I still vastly prefer CDs to downloads.

― Scik Mouthy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:13 (6 years ago) Permalink

Really, the only thing which stops me from going to Amazon full-time is the fact that ultimately one still has to rely on the white van man delivering it at two in the afternoon. If they can work out a way of beaming the stuff to me, Star Trek-style, then we'd be talking.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:15 (6 years ago) Permalink

when tower in piccadilly was tower, it used to be excellent. it had a great jazz/experimental section, complete with genre-specific bargain bins. plus, they had the most comprehensive selection of import mags in london.

their closing down sale was amazing too...picked up a couple of acid mothers rarities, an american heritage tour-only CD and a DAAU album for £2 a pop.

ebay, independent record shops and small label/distro/artist sites rule all. HMV is only good for '3 for £18' DVD deals.

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:19 (6 years ago) Permalink

Don't you still get branches of Sanity at airports, allowing you to buy VAT-free Phil Collins CDs?

― Neil S, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:21 (6 years ago) Permalink

virgin had that card last year where you got a stamp for every £10 you spent, and then redeemed it for £10 when you got 10 stamps. took me about a year to fill it up.

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:21 (6 years ago) Permalink

I have about four of those cards, each with three stamps. bah.

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:22 (6 years ago) Permalink

piccadilly hmv = grate
cambridge hmv = :-/

― unfished business, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:24 (6 years ago) Permalink

Our Price did that in the early 90s. I remember getting £15 off a Janes Addiction import cd that way. Think I also got Led Zep - Remasters that way too.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:24 (6 years ago) Permalink

Piccadilly Tower seconded. Separate improv/experimental section! Fantastic world music section as well. They should have concentrated on that branch alone instead of trying to branch out elsewhere.

But yes, increasingly I'll stick to places like Rough Trade, Minus Zero and Sound 323 for the stuff I really want.

Selectadisc is definitely on a downturn. They seem to have very poor stock control so that they appear to have a lot of stuff but never the things you're actually looking for, and the new releases section tends to eb limited to the same sort of generic indie stuff/guff you can get anywhere.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:26 (6 years ago) Permalink

sp: "be limited"

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:27 (6 years ago) Permalink

virgin had that card last year where you got a stamp for every £10 you spent, and then redeemed it for £10 when you got 10 stamps. took me about a year to fill it up.

I got through about 5 of them.

― Scik Mouthy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:29 (6 years ago) Permalink

Tower Records disappeared from Glasgow in late 90s i think. It was utter shite for the last few years of it's existence but up until then it was great(though very expensive). Was worth going in just to buy the import magazines alone.
Last time i was in before xmas there was a new shop in it's place. But didn't look any good.
Missing and Avalanche are crap now. I need to pay a visit to Volcanic Tongue sometime, but that's very expensive too. I'm as well doing mail order if i want anything from them. So Monorail is the only one worth visiting now. Unless you need cheap cd's from FOPP.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:29 (6 years ago) Permalink

What was that building before it was "Tower" ?

Some dept store.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:29 (6 years ago) Permalink

HMV seem to be trying to ape the Fopp business model but without realising why Fopp are successful - bunging a few dvd's down to £7.00 ain't gonna save you, fools. Yeah the jazz and classical sections in Virgin Piccadilly are looking distinctly lonely these days. The cold winds are starting to howl...

― Matt #2, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:30 (6 years ago) Permalink

I lived in london for ten years and never made it to 323. it was just in the wrong part of town... where is minus zero?

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:30 (6 years ago) Permalink

I bought a DVD of "Mon Oncle" with my Virgin card. It all reminded me of why I don't bother with Nectar cards at Sainsbury's in the end.

― Matt #2, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:32 (6 years ago) Permalink

Just the other side of Portobello Road from Rough Trade, but it's only open on Fridays and Saturdays.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:33 (6 years ago) Permalink

Sound 323 is a bit of a slog to get to, all the way up Archway.

I really miss These Records round the back of the Imperial War Museum which was dead easy for me to get to. But I guess their policy of not announcing themselves on the shop front and you had to know it was there and ring the correct doorbell before getting in did for them in the end.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:35 (6 years ago) Permalink

avalance is OK. the glasgow branch is better than edinburgh, at any rate.

volcanic tongue is excellent, but yes, way overpriced for home-made CD-Rs. good second-hand section though, and an unrivalled selection of obscure improvania. on the downside, it's a little one-dimensional in some ways, and I can never go in, browse and not buy.

I love monorail more than my own son. not that I have one, but if I did, he'd come second. great selection, decent prices, lovely, friendly staff and decent cider.

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:36 (6 years ago) Permalink

hmv oxford circus is very good for dvds, stock-wise, but i hardly ever *buy* anything, because it's almost always cheaper online, the end. you get the occasional thing for £3 i guess. the thing with dvds is it's hard to know what exists, so browsing kind of makes sense. then go and buy it cheaper from caiman.

― That one guy that quit, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:36 (6 years ago) Permalink

I always use the Nectar card at Sainsburys - every few months it buys my girlfriend and I dinner.

― Scik Mouthy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:36 (6 years ago) Permalink

best shops in london = the various MVE branches. notting hill especially.

― m the g, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:37 (6 years ago) Permalink

Best record shop in London = this charity shop I found that's always getting piles of cheap promos in which I buy for £1 a pop, sell on ebay for a small profit and blow the proceeds at Sound 323 every once in a while. It's all for a good cause all round - everyone wins!

― Matt #2, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:41 (6 years ago) Permalink

MVE would be best if they'd stop using such ridiculously sticky stickers! Keep seeing things I want in digipaks for a couple of quid but you know trying to get the sticker off will end up tearing half the cover off with it.

― Colonel Poo, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 10:43 (6 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 1250 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

It turns out it's not just Piccadilly Circus - most of the shops have raised the prices (considerably!) on all the back catalog stock before kicking in the big reductions.

― Walter Galt, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 14:07 (2 months ago) Permalink

I got the Manics' GenTer 'set', it came up £29 before the reduction to £12..

― Mark G, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 14:09 (2 months ago) Permalink

Keeping an eye on the Newport store every day or so, they brought out all their stock of Saint Etienne deluxe dbl cds on Monday, waiting for the right moment to pick them up. Is it ok to feel so vulture-like?

― Rob M Revisited, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 16:21 (2 months ago) Permalink

If they put out 'Sound of Water', 'Good Humor' and 'Continental' snap them up quick as they're rare as hens teeth. And get one of each for me while you're there!

― fun loving and xtremely tolrant (Billy Dods), Wednesday, 20 March 2013 16:36 (2 months ago) Permalink

The bracknell one had "Lipslide"

― Mark G, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 16:52 (2 months ago) Permalink

Well, the buy one get one free offer was enough to tempt me back in to Fopp and HMV; bought about 8 back catalogue things I've always wanted.

I notice that, after a few weeks when they were only stocking the biggest new releases (as discussed upthread), both stores are now getting in a wider range again. Fopp Cambridge Circus in particular seems to be almost back to 'normal'. This may not last, of course - and it was depressing then going to the HMV Megastore in Oxford Street and seeing all the empty shelves in the music sections. The old jazz section has been closed off completely and what's left of the stock is temporarily squatting in the classical section. It looks as if they're preparing to give up the basement altogether.

― Jeff W, Friday, 22 March 2013 11:17 (1 month ago) Permalink

world cinema dvds section was absent from westfields branch yesterday. and most of the gadget tables were just full of hi-de-hi and game of thrones box sets.

― koogs, Friday, 22 March 2013 11:25 (1 month ago) Permalink

Braehead branch closed yesterday. I went in around 4pm hoping for some discounted CDRs and headphones and a last-minute bargain but the place was already packed up apart from the current chart and a selection of DVDs. Also felt really uncomfortable when I went in, like a vulture picking the last scraps of meat from the bones, so I didn't bother to browse for anything.

― boxedjoy, Friday, 22 March 2013 12:10 (1 month ago) Permalink

Was going to go in the Moorgate branch yesterday, but turns out the 2 days left sign was left hanging a day too long & it shut the night before.

― Wandering Boy Poet, Friday, 22 March 2013 13:14 (1 month ago) Permalink

HMV are selling their fixtures and fittings in certain stores, a colleauge went to have a look and apparently they are all battered and knackered. They are obviously trying to squeeze every penny they can out of the business.

― oh hai (captain rosie), Friday, 22 March 2013 16:59 (1 month ago) Permalink

I remember seeing people buying the shelves and strip lights from Woolworths just before it closed.

Anyone know if Glasgow Argyle Street is still open?

― Habemus opiniones pro vobis (onimo), Friday, 22 March 2013 17:33 (1 month ago) Permalink

It was last night and still had quite a bit of stock. Will check again on way home.

― Eyeball Kicks, Friday, 22 March 2013 17:36 (1 month ago) Permalink

Tried to go to Fopp the other day, wanted to look up opening hours but the site redirected to the HMV site which was just a notice about it going into administration grrrr

― kinder, Friday, 22 March 2013 18:00 (1 month ago) Permalink

that sounds like you were physically teleported

― Eyeball Kicks, Friday, 22 March 2013 18:37 (1 month ago) Permalink

So, things still have those blue crosses on, but there's no apparent 'deal' in place.

― Mark G, Wednesday, 27 March 2013 16:01 (1 month ago) Permalink

Went and had a nose around the HMV in the bullring in Birmingham this week. No promotions, no sales, no blue crosses and they even had easter POS in there, it was as if nothing had happened! Weird.

― oh hai (captain rosie), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 17:10 (1 month ago) Permalink

Dundee HMV had bogof blue cross at the weekend (one week only) but nothing I didn't already have.

― michaellambert, Wednesday, 27 March 2013 19:05 (1 month ago) Permalink

Newport HMV due to close next week, removed all their blue crosses, all discount signage, everything back to full price and large "Closing down - everything must go" signs outside removed yesterday. Strange.

― Rob M Revisited, Wednesday, 27 March 2013 19:11 (1 month ago) Permalink

Fopp have put that Brian Ferry 'Olympia' super deluxe edition up in price by £100 but there's a blue cross on it to sweeten the deal

― 'Separate Lives', by Phil Collins & Marilyn Manson (PaulTMA), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 19:13 (1 month ago) Permalink

they're even botching going out of business!

― The @glennbeck have raisin b-lls and rice crispy d-ck (stevie), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:07 (1 month ago) Permalink

Or a plot is afoot and they're not going out of business...

― give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Thursday, 28 March 2013 14:59 (1 month ago) Permalink

Is there anywhere in London one can buy the Dawn Richard album? Went to Banquet in Kingston in wind and snow last week and they were sold out. HMV having presumably crashed through the basement, the only other options appear to be specialist shops who are too "cool" to stock such a record. I mean, it has tunes and things. The outrage!

― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Thursday, 28 March 2013 15:01 (1 month ago) Permalink

The whole middleground of popular music is turning into a sinkhole.

― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Thursday, 28 March 2013 15:01 (1 month ago) Permalink

Big poster in Newport HMV window saying "We're staying here", seems the store has been 'saved' and is remaining after all. Should've bought those St Et reissues on Monday when they were still discounted. On the other hand, I'm pleased Newport still has a mainstream record shop.

― Rob M Revisited, Saturday, 30 March 2013 09:25 (1 month ago) Permalink

Fopp Nottingham is returning to normal - decent selection of new releases again.

― mike t-diva, Saturday, 30 March 2013 10:25 (1 month ago) Permalink

Central London record shopping has now become a contradiction in terms. Hideous, not what I came to London for 32 years ago, etc.

Went back to Banquet and ordered the Dawn Richard album from them. Apparently no other London record shops wanted to stock the album, which depresses me but doesn't surprise me, given the "hipster" (read: "hippie") specialist shops who are quite happy to stock 40-year-old black music and corporate indie rubbish but not contemporary R&B.

Is there any feasible online alternative to Amazon? It seems to be the only way to get any music now.

― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Sunday, 31 March 2013 12:43 (1 month ago) Permalink

Piccadilly Records are good, but guess what, no Dawn Richard. http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/index.php

― mike t-diva, Sunday, 31 March 2013 13:23 (1 month ago) Permalink

And trawling search results for "dawn richard goldenheart cd" returns first Amazon, 2nd Sainsburys (!) and 3rd..... Banquet Records!

― mike t-diva, Sunday, 31 March 2013 13:27 (1 month ago) Permalink

yeah, exactly the same is true of the argyle street branch in glasgow.

Central London record shopping has now become a contradiction in terms. Hideous, not what I came to London for 32 years ago, etc.

was in London last week and was pretty saddened by the decline or disappearance of most of my favorite rec shop haunts. also went to notting hill and saw the continuing shrinkage of the music and video exchange empire, and an announcement that they were finally abandoning their 'nothing legal refused' policy. truly we are living in the last days etc.

― Ward Fowler, Monday, 1 April 2013 09:11 (1 month ago) Permalink

I was walking past the Edinburgh Princes Street branch today and noticed a sign saying that the store had been been saved and would be staying open.

― treefell, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 15:53 (1 month ago) Permalink

Well, I shall be checking it out on Friday, Fopp anyway...

― Mark G, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 21:24 (1 month ago) Permalink

I was walking past the Edinburgh Princes Street branch today and noticed a sign saying that the store had been been saved and would be staying open.

Yeah I noticed the other day they'd taken down the 'shutting' stuff, but then I did notice that the St. James Centre one had shut today.

― Keith, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:13 (1 month ago) Permalink

Had a potter round the Basingstoke branch the other day but realised my good will towards the chain has dissipated.

― djh, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 23:23 (1 month ago) Permalink

^ I totally agree. When Woolworths went under I felt a genuine sadness and nostalgia. With HMV I just have no fucks to give, they just come across as greedy bastards.

― oh hai (captain rosie), Thursday, 4 April 2013 04:16 (1 month ago) Permalink

The Newport branch closing was interesting to see, because once all the electrical goods had disappeared - as soon as they went into administration all the high end products got removed - they had loads of shelves to fill and just brought out any rubbish they had lying around. So first of all it was a load of books which nobody in their right mind would read, then they piled high old ipod nano and phone covers for 50p each, then a load of games and nonsense appeared which I'd never seen before, Rubiks Chase and notebooks that looked like cassettes and trivia quiz books (and even then the Stylophone was twice the price I'd paid for one in the same shop two years ago). And as for cds, well they brought out all their Christmas stock - a whole wall of Xmas albums. I was left with the impression that whoever ordered all this shit for HMV to sell had no idea of what consumers from a record shop wanted to buy.

― Rob M Revisited, Thursday, 4 April 2013 06:44 (1 month ago) Permalink

Ridiculous.

― they all are afflicted with a sickness of existence (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 4 April 2013 07:11 (1 month ago) Permalink

There was lots of Xmas stuff in the Bracknell branh, true..

― Mark G, Thursday, 4 April 2013 15:11 (1 month ago) Permalink

HMV sold

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22040237

― Algerian Goalkeeper, Friday, 5 April 2013 09:54 (1 month ago) Permalink

Fopp too

― Algerian Goalkeeper, Friday, 5 April 2013 09:55 (1 month ago) Permalink

hurrah!

― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Friday, 5 April 2013 10:03 (1 month ago) Permalink

I hate the phrase "hit hard" in that BBC article, "couldn't adapt" feels more accurate to me.

― oh hai (captain rosie), Friday, 5 April 2013 11:55 (1 month ago) Permalink

It is the BBC. Surprised that they didn't say "The trouble with HMV is that it didn't WANT to work."

― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Friday, 5 April 2013 12:46 (1 month ago) Permalink

Shops to be saved: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/apr/05/hmv-sold-hilco-saves-jobs-shops

― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Friday, 5 April 2013 14:19 (1 month ago) Permalink

I think I prefer to be sad about the death of HMV, than happy about the rescuing of the shops.

I'm happy for all the staff, but unless everyone goes back to buying physical media, the stores are able to support the kind of catalog that music lovers would prefer and the lack of game in the high street sends everyone back to HMV for their playstation4s and their xbox720s.

this is going to be like the "yaay, virgin megastores were saved" > "what the hell is a zavvi" > "oh, is that a clothes shop now?"

― my opinionation (Hamildan), Friday, 5 April 2013 22:39 (1 month ago) Permalink

The quotes in those links suggest they're gonna ditch the electronics and go back to selling music. Companies diversifying too much and forgetting about their core business happens quite a lot and hilco look like they've got the wherewithal to make shops bearable again. I'm cautiously optimistic.

― give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Saturday, 6 April 2013 06:02 (1 month ago) Permalink

Picked up the Dawn Richard album from Banquet on Saturday. Wow, what a record.

If HMV is going to come back from the dead I expect them to start re-stocking stuff like this.

― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Monday, 8 April 2013 09:02 (1 month ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

damn.

the stocks in bristol hmv/fopp are running low - both shops looking very desperate at the moment.

guess some contracts/dots/crosses on t's etc are taking some doing ...

― mark e, Thursday, 25 April 2013 19:18 (3 weeks ago) Permalink

That's sad because I was in the Canary Wharf branch a week or so ago and it had a back catalogue type section again. First time for I guess 5 years. They'd given over space for the DVDs and consoles and I noticed a few McCartney and Aaliyah cds there. Yay!

That store / clientele is odd though, so maybe not much to be taken from this.

(Don't shit on my McCartney love. I dare you.)

― kraudive, Thursday, 25 April 2013 19:51 (3 weeks ago) Permalink

oh yes ..

they have extended the racks for more crappy dvds of stuff that has been on tv several times in the last 4 years ...
so there is clearly a new direction kicking in - underlined by the knock down prices on 'angry birds' for iphone tat that they are trying to get rid of.

but i suspect its a case of filling empty racks with stock they already had behind the scenes ...

― mark e, Thursday, 25 April 2013 19:53 (3 weeks ago) Permalink

Well. I'd consider those two examples I gave as necessary in any good record shop. But, yes I may be mistaken. They might be filling the racks with stock idiots haven't bought.

― kraudive, Thursday, 25 April 2013 19:57 (3 weeks ago) Permalink

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