HMV to return to Oxford Street, will sell clothing and pop culture merch

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 28, 2023

Music retailer HMV is to return to its historic Oxford Street flagship store and reflecting current trends, it will sell pop culture merchandise, including clothing, and vinyl records.

Its comeback on the street happens four years after it closed the store when HMV filed for administration. The company was acquired by Canadian retailer Sunrise Records and the owner of that business — billionaire Doug Putman — said top of HMV customers’ wishlists was a central London store.

In normal circumstances, the flagship site might not have been available, but the pandemic’s impact on Oxford Street has left a huge number of properties empty. The store, which opened 102 years ago, was empty for some time after HMV went under and then became one of the ‘American candy’ stores that have been a blot on the Oxford Street landscape in recent years.

Despite most music now being bought as downloads, the company is benefiting from the return to vinyl, and also from the trend for pop culture-linked merchandise.

The West End of London is a hotspot for such goods with Elton John’s recent residency at the Selfridges Corner Shop and the ongoing success of the Rolling Stones’ store on Carnaby Street among several underlining that fact.

Rather than just racks of records on vinyl as in the past, today’s music stores are just as likely to offer clothing, accessories and memorabilia linked to popular music and these categories will have a major presence in the store.