Return_of_the_STAR wrote:Gemini73 wrote:Vermilion wrote:Gemini73 wrote:I don't think HMV are long for this world..
I just did a bit investigating, and although the Southampton store has closed, they're actually opening new stores in Derby and Boston.
If things were that bad, would they really be opening new outlets?
They also returned to Winchester a couple of years after closing up.
Bizarre as it may sound, a well established retailer like HMV opening new stores isn't always a sure fire sign of a business doing well. It's not uncommon for a retailer to open new stores then suddenly collapse altogether. As long as there is some modicum of demand then sure they can hang on for a time, but realistically in today's environment? I wouldn't bet on any kind of long term future.
Indeed, retailers right up until their deaths are still trying to find new markets, new store opportunities where they can make money. Plenty of recent retailers that have disappeared were still opening new stores or even spending money on store revamps in the weeks prior to the final nail in their coffin. Toys r us for example was trying to move some of its stores away from the large retails units and to smaller stores. This appeared to be a success as their new smaller stores were turning decent profits whilst a lot of their larger units were becoming heavy loss makers due to their large running costs. However it all came too late for them. If they had acted earlier they may still be operating in the uk.
It will also surprise many that a lot of companies still really don’t do their homework as to which stores are actually profitable and continue to run loss making stores.
In fact that's pretty much how HMV strawberry floated it the first time, if I'm remembering right. They bought out a number of competitors, tried to take over all their stores and left themselves spread far too thinly.
I do think there's a place for niche media stores in today's shopping centre; FOPP for example is a store I'd like to see survive the retail apocalypse(independent of, well, it's Master's Voice) because they deal in a lot of areas that its parent doesn't really bother with - classic movies, science fiction, a hefty vinyl section and more niche musical genres. I believe there are only eight-ish left in the UK though, with two in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh so a lot of people outside of Scotland might not know the chain.