HMV
Public entertainment retailing company / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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HMV is a music and entertainment retailer, founded in the United Kingdom in 1921. In most of the world, the brand is owned by JD Sports and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson.
HMV | |
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Music & film retail |
Founded | 20 July 1921; 102 years ago (20 July 1921) |
Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Number of locations | 119 shops (as of April 2023[update]) |
Area served | United Kingdom Ireland Belgium Japan Canada |
Key people |
|
Products | Music film television merchandise technology video games books |
Owner | Sunrise Records (United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and Belgium)[lower-alpha 1] Lawson (Japan) |
Number of employees | 1,600 (as of 2019[update])[1] |
Subsidiaries | Fopp |
Website | www |
The retailer's acronym stands for His Master's Voice, the title of a painting by Francis Barraud of Nipper listening to a phonograph.[2]
The retailer was opened by the Gramophone Company on London's Oxford Street in 1921.[3] In 1998, it was divested from EMI (successor to the Gramophone Company), to form what would become HMV Group plc.[4] In August 2007, HMV bought rival retailer, Fopp.[5] In April 2013, HMV was bought by Hilco UK for an estimated £50 million after falling into administration.[6] In February 2019, JD Sports acquired the HMV brand,[7] with the Canadian retailer Sunrise Records operating the HMV shops under license.[citation needed] The brand also exists in Japan, but under separate ownership.[8]
As of February 2024, the brand currently operates in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and Belgium, as well as operating concessions at Toys "R" Us locations in Canada.[9]