HMV has become the first casualty of a slump in Christmas trade on the high street, collapsing into administration for the second time in six years and putting more than 2,200 jobs at risk.
The music and film retailer – which accounts for nearly a third of all physical music sales in the UK and nearly a quarter of all DVD sales – appointed insolvency experts from the accountancy firm KPMG as joint administrators to either find a buyer for the business or close it down.
HMV said retailers of all types were facing “a tsunami of challenges”, festive trading had been “extremely weak” and sales of DVDs across the market had plunged by 30% on last year’s levels. Its 125 UK stores will remain open while talks with suppliers and potential buyers continue.
The 97-year-old retailer, which also owns the nine-store Fopp chain, was rescued by Hilco, a restructuring company, when it collapsed in 2013.
Paul McGowan, the executive chairman of HMV and Hilco, said the decline in the CD and DVD market had made the situation in the UK impossible.
