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The sound of good news.
After a four-year absence, HMV returns to 363 Oxford Street, home of the very first HMV store. The composer Sir Edward Elgar opened the first His Master’s Voice shop at this site in 1921 and a plaque marking the “world’s most famous music store” is still there.
Having worked in close proximity to the store many years ago, I still have such fond memories of this place and its reopening is good news on so many fronts.
– Good for retail – we still need meaningful bricks and mortar in our omnichannel world.
– Good for Oxford Street & London – we need less dodgy money laundering American Sweet shops and more destination retail locations.
– Good for the brand – it’s a massive 20,000 sq. ft. canvas that will become a tangible expression of the brand by being a hub for entertainment in the capital and the largest entertainment outlet in London offering an unparalleled range of music, film, merchandise and technology products as well as performance spaces. A temple to music and the brand.
– And most importantly good for the consumers and music lovers – over the decades the store became renowned as a community hub for music fans with performances and signings from global artists such as The Weeknd, Kylie Minogue, The Spice Girls, Blur and more, with the latter performing an iconic rooftop gig at the shop in 1995. With a purpose-built performance floor in-store, the new shop is expected to draw performances and signings from similarly renowned artists. The store will become a new destination for pop-culture in the capital will stock over 4,000 popular culture merchandise lines, over 20,000 vinyl albums and CDs, over 8,000 4k Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD, as well as a wide range of music technology products. Surely the customers and music fans will follow.
Congratulations to Doug Putman, owner of HMV who said. “Our new HMV shop concept and fan-focused offer is really working for us, with HMV once again becoming a mainstay on the UK high street. The return to Oxford Street and re-opening of our flagship is a culmination of the team’s hard work over the past four years and as a business we see it as the launchpad for an exciting new era for HMV. We want our new Oxford Street shop to become a home for like-minded pop-culture fans and music lovers to come together under one roof, as it memorably has been in the past for so many people. We can’t wait to open our doors on the 24th with a host of exciting entertainment planned for our customers.”
Nipper’s coming home.