Forum Topic

HMV to close 60 stores

HMV have reported a bad winter for sales and have announced 60 store closures nationwide.If the Ealing branch was to close would you be concerned? When was the last time you visited and bought anything?My initial reaction would be that I would be sad to see it close but I havent bought anything there for many a year. All my purchases are now online with Amazon or Play.com. I remember when there was an OurPrice in Ealing and the CD shop near the cinema. Now all gone. Seems a shame. (But if would be nice to get Bentalls back where it used to be)

David Archer ● 5741d15 Comments

Hi, I heard before Christmas, on a radio show, that HMV were closing all its stores and only have on-line purchases. The discussion suggested that hopefully now more independent music shops may open, where you could buy more specialist music, films etc. Would be good if that happens. But to answer your question, yes I would miss HMV for the special offer films.

Jaz Brown ● 5740d

Some HMV staff can't even put the artist in the correct category! Try finding something in their shop - hopeless!The loud 'music' is a turn off, can't even hear yourself think. No wonder people order from Amazon now.I agree it would be lovely to have a store like Bentalls back n Ealing Broadway.

Jean F Fernandez ● 5740d

Better shopping around Ealing would be great, but Bentalls as it was is perhaps not so exciting a prospect.  More than a touch of Grace Brothers as I remember it, with small rooms and sloping floors.

Robin Hall ● 5738d

I went into the Ealing HMV once for a product on its website a couple of moths ago. The product was not there, the staff didn't seem to care, and the dislay stands in the product area were a mess with those tell tale signs of corporate decay: the sticky-taped up split boxes with the returned items in them on dislay along with a good helping of dust!

Maggie Tomlinson ● 5738d

But it's the small rooms and sloping floors which give these old places a good part of their charm.Shame the business model no longer stacks.

Tony Colliver ● 5737d

I agree Tony, it is like the old Whiteleys in Bayswater, full of charm. The upgraded Whiteleys cannot compare and now most of the shops inside have closed down!All that remains is the beautiful staircase and some of the old architecture. What a shame!

Jean F Fernandez ● 5737d

So its official. HMV closing the Ealing branch. Prime location but I wonder if this will be another empty shop.

David Archer ● 5721d

With the unrealistic rent that landlords want to charge these days (in spite of the state of the economy) I suspect it will become either an empty shop or a charity shop to help offset the business rate which remains payable on an empty property.

Maggie Tomlinson ● 5720d

The HMV chain has been in decline for some time. From my own experiences something is very wrong with the way the company is being run. The closure of the Ealing HMV is no reflection on Ealing. It is merely the closure of a badly run store that was not providing what the public wanted to buy. That is the nature of shops: DO NOT FORGET THAT THEY ARE THERE TO MAKE A PROFIT OFF YOU AS A RESIDENT OF EALING. If they cannot provide what you need or what you want at a price that you are prepared to pay then they go out of business.

Maggie Tomlinson ● 5720d

Have you got anything positive to say about Ealing? Nearly every posting you have made has been negative.

J Smith ● 5720d

I live here. I like living here. I am being positive about Ealing in saying that it is not a reflection on Ealing that the HMV is going. So many people seem to reflect every store closure in terms of a need to re-vamp Ealing Broadway however I do not see it that way. Either one can run a profitable business or one cannot.On the other hand, with a couple of golden exceptions in terms of "good people" in Ealing Council I have very little to say that is positive about Ealing Council from direct and indirect personal experiences.One of my best friends is preparing to move out of Ealing after twenty-five years here because she no longer feels safe here and does not trust public services of various sorts in this borough. I am not doing this. I prefer to stay and at least try and "bring what is hidden" to the surface in the hope that things will change.What is depressing though is the low ethical standards and poor humanitarian attributes that those is local public office (both elected and salaried) continually show, and how little responsibility they take for what happens.

Maggie Tomlinson ● 5720d

Hi Maggie. I was interested in your remark that one of your friends was moving away from Ealing after 25yrs as she no longer feels safe. Can I ask where she is moving to?

David Archer ● 5719d

Norfolk. The fens. The wash. Agricultural quiet green and where the people are still polite to each other on the street.

Maggie Tomlinson ● 5719d

Unfortunately, Ealing Broadway has gone downhill ever since Bentalls closed.  I remember the heyday when shopping in Ealing was delightful.  Now, it is just depressing and I'm not surprised HMV is closing.

Anne Brown ● 5718d

The penny hasn't dropped yet that HMV has closed. So many people were trying to enter the store this afternoon. They kept pushng the doors in disbelief, obviously the message on the window is not big enough to be noticed by passers by!

Jean F Fernandez ● 5718d