HMV drops the needle on new Henry Street store

Days out from its opening and already the presence of the famous HMV logo on Henry Street for the first time in almost a decade seems to be piquing interest. As the finishing touches were being applied to the new shop on Thursday morning, several passing shoppers stopped to peer in the window as staff members and fit-out specialists stacked the last few records, T-shirts, posters and toys in preparation for Friday’s grand opening.

Beset by the rise of streaming and the impact, more generally, of the post-2008 recession, HMV initially closed its doors in 2013. After a brief revival lasting just three years, Ireland said goodbye to the chain in 2016 with the closure of five shops, including Henry Street. Emboldened by the success of his record store venture in Canada, retail billionaire Doug Putman bought the UK business in 2019 for less than €1 million having acquired the Canadian division two years earlier.

“When Doug, who is the owner, bought a chain of record shops in Canada,” says Phil Halliday, managing director of the reincarnated HMV group, “I think probably people were at times like ‘what the hell are you doing?’. But now all of his business are on a better footing. There is a pattern to what he’s done and customers want it and if you can deliver it in the right place, in the right way, there is demand for it.”

Four years later, HMV’s 120 UK shops – including one in Belfast – are profitable, against the backdrop of booming vinyl record sales. “The business is doing really well,” says Halliday. “Our financial year end in the UK is May and revenue will be up significantly on the year previous. We’re in a good place.”

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The chain is now back in Dublin where it hopes to emulate the success of its UK model. HMV’s Dublin outlet will sell a range of more than 5,000 records, CDs and a smorgasbord of pop culture merchandise from graphic novels to mugs and clothing over three floors in the very same spot that it once occupied on Henry Street.

Employing an initial 25 staff, it even has a small stage area for intimate gigs and meet-the-artist events. “We’ve got quite a few members of staff who know the city,” says Halliday. “Even our manager used to work in HMV back in the day so there’s quite a lot of understanding of the dynamics.”

The Dublin launch has been “a focus of the business” since last May when the plan began to take shape, the Englishman says, but it has not been without its difficulties. Brexit has been a particular challenge, Halliday explains.

“We’ve had to learn all about commodity codes, customs, duties. All of our 200 suppliers, how are you going to get the stuff to the store? Do you have European warehouses? Who will be willing to deliver to the store? So there has been a lot of education certainly.”

Whether the juice proves to be worth the squeeze remains to be seen but Halliday is confident that amid dwindling consumer discretionary budgets, HMV can offer attractive prices. For example, HMV’s two records for €50 deal. He’s also resolute in his confidence about the future for physical media and retail in the era of ecommerce and on-demand content.

“It is an adjustment that’s happening,” he says. “But I think the blend of bricks and mortar and online, if you’ve got that right, you’ll be in a really good position.” The HMV website will launch in Ireland later this year.