London: a record store returns to Oxford Street

Four years after closing its iconic store on Oxford Street in central London, the British record store HMV reopens a store on Friday at the same address, raising hopes of a revival of the famous shopping street with its declining attractiveness. . Since the bankruptcy of the record distributor which opened its first store on Oxford Street in 1921, the doorstep had been replaced by a candy store, to the great dismay of Londoners and music fans.

But on Friday, the logo of the British group - a dog listening to the voice of its deceased master in a gramophone, hence the name "His Master's Voice" (HMV, La Voix de son maître) - will find its place on the facade of 363 , Oxford Street. The new store will “reflect the evolution of HMV’s retail concept,” with space for shows and signings, and “a wide range of pop culture items,” the group said. This is “exactly what we want Oxford Street to be: an experience beyond traditional retail,” Geoff Barraclough, a member of Westminster City Council, told AFP, welcoming this reopening.

The HMV store on Oxford Street made music history in 1962 when Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager, brought a copy of their demo tape there which was noticed by producers at EMI, the house of Records then owned HMV, helping the group secure a recording contract.

An emblematic brand, it has since been faced with persistent financial difficulties, against a backdrop of depression in the record market in the face of competition from online music. HMV filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2018, after a first bankruptcy in 2013.

Canadian businessman Doug Putman, owner of the Sunrise group of record stores, then bought HMV for an undisclosed sum, but was forced to close 27 points of sale, including the emblematic one in the heart of London. Four years later, the group has managed to return to profit, and announced in April that it would return “by popular demand” to its Oxford Street site before the Christmas holidays.

Like many Britons, Dave Jacobs, 60, a scaffolder in the capital, has fond memories of the time when he could browse record covers and buy music in this store. He is not unhappy, moreover, that the numerous candy stores which, according to him, gave a “vulgar” appearance to Oxford Street are beginning to disappear from the landscape.

In recent years, the British capital's main shopping street has changed its face, suffering from the closure of department stores like Debenhams and House of Fraser, and seeing dozens of confectionery and souvenir shops popping up during the Covid-19 pandemic. . Much less prestigious, these shops are also accused by local authorities of questionable business practices, added to millions of pounds in unpaid business taxes.

Tourists like Brandy Fonds, 51, who came from the United States to visit London with her daughter, search in vain for typical businesses in the British capital, and deplore a street littered with garbage.

But for Geoff Barraclough, the reopening of the HMV store marks a turning point for Oxford Street: “the excitement is returning to one of the country's most loved shopping streets,” he said. The opening of an Ikea store, the first in the center of the British capital, is eagerly awaited there next year.