HMV has confirmed the opening of its new store on London’s Oxford Street.
The music and entertainment chain returns to the iconic shopping destination on November, 24, 2023.
The address at 363 Oxford Street played host to the very first HMV store in 1921. Music Week looked back on the retailer’s history in the capital on its 100th anniversary.
HMV said the flagship store will create over 70 new jobs. It will become a hub for entertainment in the capital and the largest entertainment outlet in London offering music, film, merchandise and technology products as well as performance spaces.
Over the decades HMV Oxford Street became a destination for music fans with performances and signings from global artists such as The Weeknd, Kylie Minogue, the Spice Girls, Blur and more, with the latter performing a rooftop gig at the shop in 1995. With a purpose-built performance floor in-store, the new shop is once again set to draw performances and signings from major artists.
Local bands and artists will also have the opportunity to perform. Those who want to get gig experience can contact staff in-store for details on how to perform through HMV’s Live&Local programme. This year, the programme will have seen over 2,000 performances and events in stores by the end of December.
Following the acquisition of HMV by Doug Putman in 2019, the Oxford Street store was closed due to high rents. But there was always an ambition to return with a flagship store as Putman and the team re-established the HMV brand with a focus on a fan and community-orientated offer.
Doug Putman, owner HMV and Fopp, said: “Our new HMV shop concept and fan-focused offer is really working for us, with HMV once again becoming a mainstay on the UK High Street. The return to Oxford Street and re-opening of our flagship is a culmination of the team’s hard work over the past four years and as a business we see it as the launchpad for an exciting new era for HMV.
“We want our new Oxford Street shop to become a home for like-minded pop-culture fans and music lovers to come together under one roof, as it memorably has been in the past for so many people. We can’t wait to open our doors on the 24th with a host of exciting entertainment planned for our customers.”
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