HMV becomes latest high-street casualty
CD and DVD retailer calls in administrator Deloitte, putting more than 4,000 jobs at risk
Entertainment and technology retailer HMV has become the latest high-profile high-street casualty after calling in administrator Deloitte.
The move, which puts 4,350 jobs at risk, comes just a week after camera chain Jessops announced it had gone into administration, and two months after the demise of Comet.
The retail giant's 239 UK and Ireland high street stores will remain open while administrator Deloitte looks for a buyer for the business, but vouchers and store credit will not be accepted.
HMV was rumoured to be in trouble yesterday as it was locked in rescue talks with lenders, ahead of confirmation of its administration last night.
HMV's chief executive Trevor Moore used to hold the same role at Jessops until last July, when he took over at the CD and DVD retailer from Simon Fox, who is now boss of Trinity Mirror publishers.
Channel onlookers took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the retailer's demise, with some drawing parallels to the IT channel.
Nigel Dunn, Azlan's director, tweeted: "So why didn't Jessops, Comet [and] HMV see the market changing and adapt? The internet isn't new. Parallels to the Cloud? Channel, take heed.
"It's a retail bloodbath out there. Jessops, HMV latest - high streets will be ghost towns. Where next for retailers?"
Phil Jones, Brother's UK head of technology put HMV's troubles partly down to cloud computing and its impact on retail.
He said: "The HMV story is more linked to the longer-term impact of disruptive technology like MP3 and cloud computing (iTunes and Amazon)."
Softcat's solutions director Sam Routledge tweeted: "HMV still sells 27 per cent of DVDs and 38 per cent of physical music...[it is] more about online retail than digital I think?"
Independent credit consultant Eddie Pacey described HMV's business model as "defunct" and Convenco's solutions expert Shaune East questioned what the high street will look like in ten years.