HMV | |
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Music & film retail |
Founded | 20 July 1921 |
Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Number of locations | 120 shops (as of April 2024[update])[citation needed] |
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)[a] Lawson (Japan) |
Number of employees | 1,600 (as of 2019[update])[1] |
Subsidiaries | Fopp |
Website | www |
HMV is a British music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by JD Sports and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson.[2]
The retailer was opened by the Gramophone Company on London's Oxford Street, named after the Francis Barraud painting, His Master's Voice.[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 Group plc was bought by Hilco UK for an estimated £50 million after falling into administration, with some international divisions divested off.[6] In February 2019, British retailer JD Sports acquired the HMV brand,[7] and the Canadian retailer Sunrise Records acquired HMV's stores, to operate under license.[8]
In May 2023, Sunrise Records announced the retailer would return to Ireland, followed by an announcement in November 2023 that the retailer would also enter the Belgian market.[9][10] In February 2024, Sunrise Records announced HMV would re-enter the Canadian market as an in-store concession within Toys "R" Us locations.[11]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the help page).
Full Assignment RC000162070 received on date 06/10/2020 has been recorded, resulting to the change of ownership from HMV (Brands) Limited (id: 588693, country: GB) to JD Sports Fashion Plc (id: 30760, company number: 01888425, country: GB). The effective date of assignment is 22/02/2019.