HMV is on the brink of falling into administration for the second time in six years placing thousands of jobs in danger.
According to Sky News, the music and physical entertainment retailer filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators last week as it struggles to survive the dramatic shift in the market towards streaming services and away from physical media.
The embattled retailer, which currently trades from 130 locations and employs around 2200 staff, is understood to have reached out to leading figures in the record industry in an attempt to secure emergency funding to keep it afloat.
This follows news earlier in December that it was to begin to winding up its Hong Kong stores, stating it was “unable to escape from the crushing force of the wheel of history” over the global decline of CD and DVD sales.
HMV Digital China Group said in a statement that it had appointed liquidators for the unit, after defaulting on a number of payments and becoming insolvent.
Last year the embattled company shut all 102 of its stores in Canada.
In the 52 weeks to December 30 last year, HMV saw revenues dip 7.8 per cent to £277 million, while gross profits dropped from £113.3 million to £106.3 million.
Back in 2013, HMV was rescued from administration by Hilco Capital, the same firm which bought DIY retailer Homebase out of administration earlier this year in an attempt to launch a turnaround.
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