HMV in trouble: Is Harrogate effected?

A mecca for music, audio and film fans, HMV in Victoria Shopping Centre is one of 125 UK HMV stores confirmed to being remaining open after the high street giant went into administration for the second time in six years, putting more than 2,200 jobs at risk nationwide.

Paul McGowan, the executive chair of HMV and Hilco, told national newspapers talks with suppliers and potential buyers were on-going but the decline in the CD and DVD market oin the face of streaming and digital competition combined with high business rates had made the situation impossible.

He said: “During the key Christmas trading period the market overall for DVDs fell by over 30% compared to the previous year."While HMV performed considerably better than that, such a deterioration in a key sector of the market is unsustainable."

The major retailer has now appointed administrators at KPMG, saying a "tsunami" of challenges is hurting it badly.

Paul McGowan said: "HMV has clearly not been insulated from the general malaise of the UK high street and has suffered the same challenges with business rates and other government-centric policies which have led to increased fixed costs in the business.“Business rates alone represent an annual cost to HMV in excess of £15m."Even an exceptionally well-run and much-loved business such as HMV cannot withstand the tsunami of challenges facing UK retailers over the last 12 months on top of such a dramatic change in consumer behaviour in the entertainment market.”

Fifty years of Harrogate's million-selling rock star