HMV is closing the gap with Amazon in the UK

Posted on 09/05/2016 by Matt Brian

What a difference three years makes. HMV, a company that was teetering on the edge of closure three and a half years ago, has pushed past Tesco to become the UK's second biggest entertainment retailer behind Amazon. The company recorded a 2 percent r...

HMV Canada owner takes control of HMV UK in attempt to rescue troubled chain

Posted on 22/01/2013 by Daniel Cooper

HMV's 91-year long tenure on the British high street might not be coming to an end after all, as HMV Canada's owner has mounted a rescue attempt. The rescuer in this instance is Hilco, which previously picked up Polaroid's brand and paired it with famous insolvency specialist Lady Gaga. BBC News is reporting that Hilco scored a cut-price rate on the £176 million ($278.8 million) corporate debt and has already received cheering words from the film and music industry. After a bout of uncertainty, HMV has also said it'll once again accept gift cards in its stores.

[Image credit: London Express / Getty Images]

Filed under: Misc

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Source: BBC News, (2)

HMV goes bankrupt after 91 years in the disc-selling business

Posted on 15/01/2013 by Sharif Sakr

The first time we mentioned HMV on Engadget was back in 2009, when the British retailer discounted the PSP Go -- ironically, one of the earliest devices to do away with disc-shaped media. As the picture above shows though, HMV's history goes back much further than that. Its first store opened in 1921 under an elaborate neon sign featuring the company's emblem of a dog listening to a gramophone beneath the words "His Master's Voice."

Fast forward to today and the old-school seller has suffered gravely from the same online shift that has affected many others. It has called in administrators after failing to negotiate new terms over its bank debt, and unless a buyer steps up to take over the chain's 240 stores then as many as 4,350 people will be let go.

According to Metro, the many HMV gift vouchers that would have been given and received over Christmas are now effectively "worthless." On the other hand, the British personal finance guru Martin Lewis reckons gift vouchers shouldn't be thrown away as they may be redeemable one day, or there may be a chargeback option if they were purchased with a credit card.

[Image credit: London Express / Getty Images]

Filed under: Misc, Gaming

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Source: Martin Lewis (Twitter), Metro, Guardian

Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker spotted at FCC and HMV: take one and call Dr. Dre in the morning

Posted on 18/09/2012 by Jon Fingas

The Beats by Dr. Dre badge has usually been attached to headphones and the occasional laptop or smartphone. We've never really seen it attached to dedicated speakers, however, and that's where both an FCC filing and a sighting at UK retailer HMV's online store raise a few eyebrows. The House that Dre Built appears on the edge of launching the Beats Pill, a Bluetooth wireless speaker with four drivers and a shape that more than explains the medicinal name. While we don't know just how much of that signature Beats thump we'll get, we do know from the FCC that the Pill can serve as a speakerphone, carries an aux-in jack and will last for a typical 8.5 hours on its USB-rechargeable lithium-ion battery. There's also signs of a red version of Beats' Mixr headphones coming at the same time. HMV has publicly scoured its pages of any trace of a ship date or price for the Pill, but cached copies point to a £170 ($276) price and a release around September 28th -- not necessarily trustworthy figures, but they may be in the ballpark. Our only question is whether or not we'll get a dose of the Pill in the US.

[Thanks, Germaine]

Gallery: Beats Pill speaker (unofficial)