March 29, 2024
Today at
15:21
The legendary British music retailer HMV will open a second branch in our country in April. After Antwerp, it is Brussels’ turn.
The opening of the new store in the City 2 Shopping Center in Brussels’ Nieuwstraat on April 12 is striking. It is only HMV’s second branch on the European mainland, after a new store opened its doors in the Wijnegem Shopping Center in November. HMV says it is satisfied with the results of that first Belgian case.
HMV originated in 1921 as His Master’s Voice, when the British record producer Gramophone Company opened its first store on Oxford Street in London.
The expansion into the continent from the UK is also notable as HMV has been narrowly saved from collapse twice in the past decade. The most recent restart, in 2019, was initiated by Canadian businessman Doug Putman. Through drastic cutbacks and a renewal of the product range, he was able to breathe new life into the 103-year-old HMV and restore profitability.
The Body Shop
Putman also owns Canadian music stores Sunrise Records and American Toys “R” Us toy stores in Canada. The British newspaper The Telegraph recently wrote that the businessman is considering making a bid for the British stores of the collapsed cosmetics chain The Body Shop. He expressed interest, but it is unclear whether he made a formal offer.
HMV originated in 1921 as His Master’s Voice, when the British record producer Gramophone Company, one of the forerunners of the music label EMI, opened its first store on Oxford Street in London. The chain, which gained cult status and once again has more than 120 points of sale, now sells music and accessories, such as headphones, films, games and merchandising.
