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Tag: UK Retailers

  • HMV to Close Even More Stores, Lay Off 464 More Employees

    U.K. Electronics retailer HMV is set to close 37 more stores and lay off 464 more employees. This is in addition to the 66 store closures and 930 employee lay offs that were announced earlier this month.

    No date has been set for the store closures, but individual stores will be closing in the next four to six weeks. Adding in the other closures, HMV will be left with just over 100 stores in the U.K. The individual stores to be closed have been announced:

    Ashford, Basildon, Bolton, Cheltenham, East Kilbride, Enfield, Folkestone, Glasgow Argyle, Gloucester, Grimsby, Hatfield Galleria, Heathrow T5 Departure Level, Heathrow Terminal 1, Heathrow Terminal 3, Heathrow Terminal 4, Hemel Hempstead, High Wycombe, Isle of Wight, Lancaster, Leadenhall, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Newbury, Newcastle Silverlink, Newport, Nuneaton, Redditch, Salisbury, Scarborough, Southport, Stafford, Staines, Stockport, Swindon, Taunton, Torquay, Woking.

    Word of the extra closures comes via Deloitte, which was chosen to administrate HMV in Jaunary after the company failed to come to terms with its creditors. Administrators appointed by Deloitte are currently restructuring the retailer for a possible sale.

    “As part of our ongoing review of HMV’s financial position, we have undertaken a further review of the store portfolio and have identified an additional 37 stores for closure,” said Nick Edwards, joint administrator of HMV. “This step has been taken in order to enhance the prospects of the restructured business continuing as a going concern. Together with the previously identified 66 closures, this restructuring will result in a residual portfolio of some 116 stores.

    “We are extremely grateful to the staff for their continued strong support and commitment during an understandably difficult period. All other key stakeholders including suppliers and landlords remain supportive and we appreciate their ongoing assistance.”

  • HMV to Close 66 Stores, Lay Off Over 900 Employees

    Last month, U.K. electronics retailer HMV entered administration. Employees and customers were left wondering whether the business would be shutting down.

    Today, Deloitte, the firm hired to oversee HMV’s administration, announced that 66 HMV stores will be closing throughout the U.K. These stores collectively have 930 employees, and no plans to relocate them were revealed. HMV currently has 220 stores in the U.K.

    This step has been taken in order to enhance the prospects of securing the business’ future as a going concern,” said Nick Edwards, joint administrator of HMV. “We continue to receive strong support from staff and are extremely grateful to them for their commitment during an understandably difficult period. All other key stakeholders remain very supportive and I continue to be hopeful of securing a future for the restructured business.”

    No date has been set for the closure of the stores, but they are expected to shut down sometime in the next two months. Below is the list of stores that will be closing. Consumers near these stores would be well-served to keep an eye on them to watch for closeout sales.

    Ashton-under-Lyne, Ballymena, Barnsley, Bayswater, Belfast Boucher Road, Belfast Forestside, Bexleyheath, Birkenhead, Birmingham Fort, Blackburn, Boston, Bournemouth Castlepoint, Bracknell, Burton-upon-Trent, Camberley, Chesterfield, Coleraine, Craigavon, Croydon Centrale, Derry, Dumfries, Durham, Edinburgh Fort, Edinburgh Gyle Centre, Edinburgh Ocean, Edinburgh Princes Street, Edinburgh St James, Falkirk, Fulham, Glasgow – Fort, Glasgow – Silverburn, Glasgow Braehead, Huddersfield, Kirkcaldy, Leamington Spa, Leeds White Rose, Lisburn, Loughborough, Luton, Manchester 90, Moorgate, Newry, Newtonabbey, Orpington, Rochdale, Scunthorpe, South Shields, Speke Park, St Albans, St Helens, Stockton-on-Tees, Tamworth, Teesside, Telford, Trocadero, Wakefield, Walsall, Walton-on-Thames, Wandsworth, Warrington, Watford, Wellingborough, Wigan, Wood Green, Workington, Wrexham.

  • Blockbuster U.K. to Close 160 Stores, More Closings Possible

    Last week Blockbuster U.K. announced that it would be entering administration and begin looking for a buyer for its 528 stores across the U.K. Today, the real process of closing up shop has started and store closings have been announced.

    Deloitte, the firm administering Blockbuster, has announced that 160 Blockbuster stores in the U.K. will be closing. The possibility of more store closing announcements in the near future was not ruled out.

    “Having reviewed the portfolio with management, the store closure plan is an inevitable consequence of having to restructure the Company to a profitable core which is capable of being sold,” said Lee Manning joint administrator of Blockbuster U.K at Deloitte. “We would like to thank the company’s employees for their support and professionalism during this difficult time. We are also grateful to the customers for their continued support.”

    The closings mean around 1,000 Blockbuster employees will soon be out of work or shuffled to other stores. The stores won’t close immediately, however, and a hotline has been put in place to help employees find other work.

    In the meantime, the closing stores will remain open for business. Customers will get to enjoy “closing down promotions” as the stores close.

    Competition from online retailers and the rise of streaming digital media are causing increasing difficulties for physical retailers. British retailers HMV and Game Group have also entered administration within the past year.

  • UK Retailers Get More Overseas Tablet Traffic

    Good news for UK retailers, search volumes from overseas consumers using tablets and smartphones have increased at an astronomical rate. Overall UK brand searches are up 57%, but the real news is from mobile and tablet computer shoppers who searched those brands an incredible 132% more often than when compared with the same time in 2011.

    The numbers come to us from the British Retail Consortium, and Google Retail Monitor who measured the unbelievable growth starting in Quarter one of 2012.

    Stephen Robertson, Director General of the British Retail Consortium commented on the growth:

    “Squeezed household budgets mean customers are turning more and more to the internet to research what they’re buying and look for best value. Being able to check competitors’ goods and prices while they’re in a store is a big part of the continuing boom in retail searches via mobiles and tablets.”

    “It’s a sign of these tough times that this isn’t restricted to major purchases – the biggest growth in mobile retail searches is on food and drink as people compare different offers. The number of overseas consumers searching for UK retailers has soared 57 per cent for this quarter compared with the same period a year earlier.”

    “Internet search traffic from developing countries like Mexico and Pakistan has more than doubled. These statistics demonstrate the growth potential of online for UK retailers and the part retail can play in building a recovery based on exports, given the right conditions and a genuinely free-trade world market place.”

    Peter Fitzgerald, Retail Director at Google also commented on the growth in UK traffic:

    “The first quarter of 2012 provided more evidence of the growing importance of mobile. While overall retail queries grew 11% year-on-year, mobile experienced exponential growth, growing 132% year-on-year in Q1. Mobile retail queries as a percentage of total retail queries also followed a similar trajectory, more than doubling from 8% in Q1 2011 to 17% in Q1 2012.”

    “The busiest days online, overall and on mobile, for Q1 2012 came in the first few days of January as customers searched for bargains and post-Christmas discounts in the January sales period. The first quarter also underscored the importance of retailer brands developing their international presence. Overseas searches for UK retail brands grew 57% year-on-year in Q1.”

    “Countries such as Mexico and Pakistan drove the highest overall year-on-year growth in search interest for UK retailers; 135% and 101% year-on-year respectively, while interest also grew in the BRIC countries.”

    So it’s not just about growth for the UK, the internet is making the world a smaller place even in the consumer goods market. We all have the potential to be international shoppers now via the instant search capabilities of our mobile devices. Who knew comparison shopping could ever encompass such a large area?