// HMV warns of job losses & 10 store closures unless it secures new deals with landlords
// It confirmed that a further 3 stores will shut at the end of the month
// The brand new HMV Vault, which opened in Birmingham in October last year, will not be affected
HMV has warned of job losses and the closure of up to 10 stores unless it is able to secure new deals with its landlords.
The music retailer confirmed that a further three stores will shut at the end of the month, with new tenants already lined up to move into the properties.
In a statement over the weekend, HMV said some stores were no longer viable due to “extortionate” business rates in certain locations.
READ MORE: Does HMV have a future on the UK’s high street?
HMV said its three stores which will close at the end of January are: HMV Bury St Edmunds, Fopp Glasgow on Byres Road and HMV Nuneaton.
The retailer said it was also relocating in Lincoln and Plymouth, with new stores opening in both cities at the start of February.
HMV said 10 stores are due to close later this month unless it is able to agree new deals with landlords.
“There are currently 10 stores where negotiations with landlords are ongoing and we are hopeful of securing new deals,” a HMV spokesman said.
“The closures are no reflection on our superb staff and where we are not able to come to a new agreement or relocate staff within the business elsewhere, unfortunately this does mean some of our staff will lose their jobs.”
The 10 stores which are subject to negotiations are: Birmingham Bullring, Leeds Headrow, Bristol Cribbs, Edinburgh Ocean Terminal, Glasgow Braehead, Grimsby, Merryhill, Reading, Sheffield Meadowhall and Worcester.
The HMV Vault, which opened in Birmingham in October last year, and its store at the St John’s shopping centre in Leeds would not be affected, the retailer said.
HMV was purchased in a rescue deal by music mogul Doug Putman in February last year after it crashed into administration for the second time in five years in December 2018.
Putman, who runs the Canadian retailer Sunrise Records, closed 15 stores after taking control of the retailer.
with PA Wires
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