Dave reported in October last year that HMV were linking up with Cuzon to open a 200 seat cinema in their retail store in Wimbledon, London. This pilot scheme was a successful one, as it is being reported today that HMV and Curzon are to open twenty cinemas in store across the UK.
HMV has weathered the economic storm while its rivals Zavvi, and to a lesser extent Woolworths, have fallen by the wayside, and is the country’s leading home entertainment retail outfit and this move to create cinemas in-house can be seen as a proactive move to entice the paying public into their stores.
Variety, who reported the story, had this quote from Curzon CEO, Philip Knatchbull,
The HMV at Wimbledon clearly demonstrated there is a need for high-quality, high-tech cinemas with cafe-bar spaces, delivering varied films and programming that’s tailored to the demands of the local community.
Sounds like a tremendous proposition, and if, as Disney for one want, the home entertainment release window gets any smaller there may end up being times when you can watch a film in the HMV Curzon cinema and then buy the DVD in store.
Do you think this is a good move?
