Could this be the way that online retail is going? With Zavii and Woolworthes going down the toilet, HMV is one of the only high street shops that specialise in music and DVD sales. BBC Newsbeat have today reported that HMV have opened a three-screen digital cinema above its Wimbledon branch in collaboration with cinema chain, Curzon. There total capacity will be around 200 seats.
HMV Chief Executive Simon Fox explained: “Our mix of sales now is about a quarter music, a quarter is computer games and half is DVD. Music has declined, as you’d expect. One of the reasons why we are putting cinemas into our stores is because we know the brand has to stretch, it has to stretch beyond the traditional music store into new areas. We are described as the last man standing on the high street and indeed we are, in terms of being the last entertainment specialist.”
I happen to live just down the road from Wimbledon and I believe the HMV is about 5 shops positions away from a huge Odeon cinema with 12 screens. This is the Odeon that has recently converted one of their screens to IMAX which will surely be a large blow to HMV. That said, HMV say this will not threaten their cinemas as they’ll be focusing on showing classic movies, independent and international films – but then they’re opening the cinema with Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus – which aren’t in the criteria?
I guess we might see HMV doing this elsewhere in the UK, especially if the Wimbledon branch does well. What do you think on the matter? Is this a good thing or are HMV clutching at straws? Let us know in the comments.
You can find out more on the HMV Curzon website here.
