With Christmas such a vitally important time for music and entertainment retailers, HMV traditionally records a loss in the first half of its financial year, which ends in April. Fox, who ruled himself out of the running for the top job at ITV last year, is convinced there is still a future for the company. It has moved into live music although early results have been disappointing and is selling more gadgets, such as iPads.
But will that be enough to save HMV from the fate suffered by its main rivals, Woolworth and Zavvi, which collapsed a couple of years ago? The fear remains that, whatever his efforts, the HMV chief executive will be unable to move swiftly enough to correct the deep structural problems within the business. HMV shares, which closed at This is despite a frisson of bid speculation sparked by the interest shown by the Russian oligarch Alexander Mamut.
He has bought shares in HMV on three occasions in the past month and is now sitting on a stake of 5 per cent. Not as a competitor to the retail store, but something that works alongside it that gives people more of what they want. Just like our music tastes are a mixed bag of obscure artists and guilty pleasures, so too are our listening habits including Spotify, vinyl, iTunes and good-old radio.
We're listening to more music than ever before. HMV can be one of the brands at the very top of the tree that helps people get more into music and become fans. Real fans feel music and will follow it everywhere. And that's a powerful place to build a brand. Film giants, including 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios and Warner Bros, are also expected to throw their weight behind the rescue attempt.
Industry sources said the entertainment giants were desperate to keep alive a specialist retailer to avoid cut-throat pricing by supermarkets and internet distributors. The industry consortium is understood to favour a bid by Hilco, an investor that specialises in struggling retailers. Hilco is best known in Britain for salvaging Habitat. Last year it bought HMV's Canadian arm.
Last week HMV became one of the biggest high street casualties since the financial crisis began when it collapsed into administration. It has about 4, staff, mostly in its stores in the UK and Ireland, and a handful of shops abroad, including sites in Hong Kong and Singapore. Administrators from Deloitte were called in on Monday after poor Christmas trading.
HMV's demise came during a miserable few days for retailers in which Jessops, the camera specialist, and Blockbuster, the DVD rental company, also went under.
Deloitte is now seeking investors willing to save the year-old chain, whose slow unravelling was caused by its failure to keep up with fierce competition from the internet and supermarkets.
Several interested parties have already come forward but only a few are being taken seriously. Retail experts think HMV has a future if it can shed its debts and half its stores. A new owner will need the continued support of HMV's suppliers, which fought to keep it out of administration. Last year they relaxed payment terms in return for a small parcel of shares, and in the crucial trading period before Christmas they provided help worth tens of millions of pounds.
Among the lifelines under consideration is a further extension to HMV's credit lines, with some suppliers considering slashing prices, sources said. If HMV were allowed to go under, the big labels would cede even more power to Amazon and to Apple, whose iTunes store now dominates the music industry.
The stakes are even greater for Universal Music. Universal could face a rental bill of millions of pounds if the stores are left vacant. The administrators are convinced HMV can be rescued. Administrators to Blockbuster also hope to find a buyer for the rental business despite the closure of stores yesterday with the loss of jobs.
These closures were in addition to 31 that had been announced earlier. Retail analysts are sceptical about the chain's future. I don't claim to be an investment genius but you're not one either. The one thing montyhedge said on here that was right is that you were sitting on the fence here and didn't declare any position short or long.
You post on three maybe more websites and I have seen no evidence on any of them that you have selected any stocks that have gone well for you. Before and since selling hmv, I have gone into a few stocks which have done rather nicely. Check it out on lse. The firm, famous for its Nipper the dog trademark, has been shifting its emphasis from fast-declining CD and DVD markets into the growth markets of new technology products, live music and event ticketing.
It is closing 60 stores and cutting costs. The million pounds loans package, which matures in September , replaces an existing million pounds facility and comprises two term loans of 70 million pounds and 90 million pounds and a revolving credit facility of 60 million pounds. The agreement secures HMV's short-term future, and effectively gives UK taxpapers a stake in the struggling high street chain. By pledging to use the money to pay down debt, chief executive Simon Fox persuaded the banks to agree the refinancing.
The restructuring gives HMV two years to revamp the business and get sales back on track.
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