HMV has announced it will close its flagship Oxford Street store next year.
The store previously closed in 2019, nearly 100 years after first opening, when the chain collapsed into administration. HMV was rescued by Canadian retail tycoon Doug Putman, with the store at 363 Oxford Street reopening at the end of 2023.
Now it will close in March 2027.
The chain blamed a combination of soaring rent and the cost of “substantial” renovations. It said the landlord wanted to double the current rent.
However, the chain insists it will maintain a “significant presence” in London. It’s looking for an alternative site for a West End store, and will seek to minimise job losses by redeploying staff.
“This is a special store. It’s where we began 100 years ago and bringing it back to life in 2023 was a big moment in our recent history,” said managing director Phil Halliday.
“It’s frustrating that it has been made commercially unviable. However, we are looking ahead, and our focus is now on what we do to make exciting steps for HMV in 2027.”
What will those steps entail? Halliday didn’t say. But HMV is in rude health generally – the chain reported a 15 per cent rise in sales for the first nine months of 2026. Revenue from its 123 UK shops and online is set to reach £240million, up from £212million in 2025 – likely driven, in no small part, by physical media such as vinyl records and CDs.
So while it’s disappointing to see such a high-street stalwart suffer, there are still plenty of reasons for fans of physical media – and bricks-and-mortar shops – to be happy.
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