TheMarketingblog

HMV : Job losses involve 2,200 staff at 125 stores

HMV – the market for DVDs fell by over 30% this Christmas.

HMV is about to appoint administrators for the second time in six years, putting more than 2,200 jobs at risk.

The music and film retailer will call in administrators from KPMG after sales slumped over Christmas. It said sales of DVDs across the whole market had plunged by 30% on last year and retailers of all types were facing “a tsunami of challenges”.

HMV confirmed on Friday that its 125 UK stores will remain open while talks with suppliers and potential buyers continue.

 

Well, in a way you were right. In 2013, with sales plunging more than 10%, the firm called in the administrators.

Back then the retail analyst Mark Saunders told the Guardian: “In the digital era where 73.4% of music and film are downloaded or bought online, HMV’s business model has simply become increasingly irrelevant and unsustainable.”

The move, the second in six years, involves 2,200 staff at 125 stores.

Owners Hilco, which took the company out of its first administration in 2013, blamed a “tsunami” of retail challenges, including business rate levels and the move to digital.

It said the stores would continue to trade while negotiations were held with major suppliers and it looked for buyers.