HMV has confirmed that it will open the doors to its flagship at 363 Oxford Street on 24 November, after a four-year absence.
The location was the very first HMV store when it opened in 1921 and over the decades has hosted performances and signings from some of the world’s biggest bands and singers, including Kylie Minogue, Blur, and The Spice Girls.
The entertainment retailer vacated the site in 2019 after new owner Doug Putman, who saved the business from collapse, was unable to strike a deal with the store landlord.
The shop was empty for an extended period and was most recently home to one of the many American candy stores that have opened along Oxford Street.
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HMV’s move back to the central London location follows Putman’s dramatic turnaround of the business.
The retailer returned to profit last year and has been opening new stores.
The Oxford Street flagship will create over 70 new jobs and will become “the largest entertainment outlet in London offering an unparalleled range of music, film, merchandise and technology products as well as performance space”.
Putman said: “Our new HMV shop concept and fan-focused offer is really working for us, with HMV once again becoming a mainstay on the UK high street.
“The return to Oxford Street and re-opening of our flagship is a culmination of the team’s hard work over the past four years and as a business we see it as the launchpad for an exciting new era for Hmv.
“We want our new Oxford Street shop to become a home for like-minded pop-culture fans and music lovers to come together under one roof, as it memorably has been in the past for so many people.”
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