HMV Group is an international entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the UK and Canada. The company also operate stores in Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong & Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Acquisitions by the HMV Group include Waterstone's in 1998 from W H Smith,[1] the music retailer Fopp in August 2007, and selected Zavvi retail outlets in February 2009.[5]

HMV stands for His Master's Voice, their logo is the famous painting by English artist Francis Barraud, A.R.A. of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone. In the original painting, the dog was listening to a cylinder phonograph and was seated atop a coffin (suggesting that his master is in it).

History

In 1921 the Gramophone Company opened the first HMV shop in London, England. The store was opened by composer Sir Edward Elgar. In March 1931 the Gramophone Company merged with Columbia Gramophone Company to form Electric and Musical Industries Ltd (EMI).

In 1966, HMV began expanding its retail operations in London. Throughout the 1970s, the company continued to expand, doubling in its size and in six years became the country's leading specialist music retailers though faced new competition from Virgin Megastores which was established in 1971 and Our Price, established a year later in 1972. During this period, HMV took over Our Price in popularity, having established a chain of newer, larger stores which threatened their existence.

The growth continued for a third decade in the 1990s. In 1996, there was over 300 HMV Music stores internationally, when the company celebrated its 75 year anniversary.

In 1998 HMV Media was demerged from EMI leaving EMI with a 43% stake in HMV Media. The same year, the Company bought the Waterstone's chain of bookshops and merged them with Dillons.

In 2002 the Company floated on the London Stock Exchange as HMV Group plc, leaving EMI with only a token holding. For most of 2005 the HMV Group took over book chain Ottakar's. In a similar situation to the previous acquisition Dillons, the firm was merged into the larger Waterstone's operation. This merger tied in to HMV's strategy for growth, as many of the Ottakar's branches were in smaller towns and outposts.

Recent Developments

In early July 2007, retailers Fopp went into administration, with the closure of 81 stores and 700 staff made redundant. Towards the end of the month, HMV bought the Fopp brand and six of its stores. HMV claimed that the six stores had traded profitably prior to their closure, and that the deal would save around 70 jobs. HMV later added a seventh Fopp store to its portfolio. They will continue to trade under the Fopp brand.

In the 2008 MCV Industry Excellence Awards, HMV was given the title 'Entertainment Retailer of the Year'.

On 1 September 2008, HMV Group launched Get Closer, a social networking site which allows users to import their own music library and rivals current providers including Napster and the iTunes Store which are both examples of an online music store.

On 24 December 2008, Christmas Eve, HMV's rival Zavvi, also an entertainment retailer, entered into administration. On 14 January 2009, a placing announcement by the company revealed that they intend to acquire 14 of Zavvi's stores. By selling additional shares, the company will raise money to fund another joint venture with the MAMA Group, to run 11 live music venues, including the Hammersmith Apollo which is set to be renamed to the HMV Apollo. Other venues purchased include The Forum in London's Kentish Town, the Birmingham Institute and Aberdeen's Moshulu. HMV will also use the opportunity to create a tickets division which will have benefits for HMV loyalty card members. HMV began piloting their refreshed loyalty scheme during 2008, and it will be expanded during 2009, under the name "pure hmv". The scheme had previously ceased to operate after being introduced in August 2003.

On 18 February, five additional Zavvi stores were purchased by HMV Group, all will be rebranded to HMV outlets.

As of January 2009, HMV Group currently has three strategic aims for the future of the company. The first is to protecting and revitalising the companies' core retail business, grow revenue from new channels and to drive cost efficiency.

As of 26 April 2008, the company operates 379 HMV shops and 313 Waterstone's. HMV shops in the UK and Ireland use the HMV trademark with Nipper.