British music retailer HMV is returning to the iconic location of its former flagship store in central London on Friday, in a much-needed boost to the capital’s flagship high street property flag.
The reopening of the historic store comes as authorities crack down on a wave of so-called American patisserie shops that have plagued central London since the pandemic.
Steeped in musical history, the former HMV store at 363 Oxford Street was opened in 1921 by English composer Edward Elgar and later helped propel The Beatles to fame.
But in recent years, the capital’s high street has struggled as major department stores such as Debenhams and House of Fraser have closed.
“It feels like Times Square in New York, heavy on quantity but low on quality,” unimpressed American tourist Brandy Fons, 51, told AFP.
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Fons, a film journalist on a visit to London with her teenage daughter Sienna, said they were struck by the amount of rubbish they constantly had to clean up.
“We’ve done better, much better,” he said, adding that he’d love to see some local boutiques instead of big international brands like Disney.
After HMV Oxford Street closed in 2019, it became one of the many unwanted sweet shops that popped up during the pandemic when only food shops were allowed to stay open.
Local authorities say that at its peak, there were 30 candy or souvenir shops on Oxford Street, which traditionally housed big, big-name retailers.
They also accuse them of questionable business practices and say they owe millions in unpaid business taxes.
Geoff Barraclough, of Westminster Council which manages the area, told AFP he believed the reopening of HMV was a turning point for Oxford Street.
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“Its return … is testimony that the buzz is returning to the country’s most beloved high street,” he said, pointing to the much-anticipated opening of an IKEA store next year.
“His Master’s Voice”
The new HMV, which will also feature space for performances and signings, represented “exactly what we want Oxford Street to be – an experience beyond traditional retail”, Barraclough added.
The storefront will also see the return of the company’s logo — the image of a dog listening to his late master’s voice coming from a gramophone. HMV stands for “His Master’s Voice”.
The Oxford Street flagship secured its place in music history in 1962 when Brian Epstein cut a demo for the Beatles in the shop’s studio.
This led to the Fab Four signing with EMI, the record label owned by HMV until 1996.
But HMV fell into financial trouble in 2019 as it struggled to compete with music streaming, and the Oxford Street site was forced to close.
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The label was eventually rescued by Canada’s Sunrise Records for an undisclosed sum and has since enjoyed a renaissance under entrepreneur Doug Putman, returning to profit last year.
The upturn in its fortunes prompted the retailer to announce in April that it would be returning “by popular demand to Oxford Street” in time for Christmas.
For some Londoners who can’t come soon enough.
London scaffolder Dave Jacobs, 60, said, like many Brits, he had fond memories of browsing and buying music at HMV.
The patisseries made the whole street look “trashy”, he said, adding he was “glad they’re getting rid of them”.
The HMV store was “just one part of London”, he said.
Source: AFP