HMV to close all 102 stores across Canada, marking the end of an era

Jan 28 2017, 3:39 pm

HMV just could not compete with the rise of music streaming and downloading; Canada’s biggest chain of brick-and-mortar stores for music CDs and film and television discs will be closing all 102 of its locations across the country this spring.

On Friday afternoon, an Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved an application to place HMV into receivership, forcing the retailer to shutter its operations. The application was submitted earlier in the week by HUK 10 Ltd., which provided the music chain with a loan to stay afloat.

Since 2011, HMV stores in Canada have operated independently of British-based HMV Retail Ltd. after the Canadian division was sold to Hilco UK, the company that owns HUK.

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HMV has not followed HUK’s repayment schedule, to the extent that it owes $39 million in unpaid dues towards its debt since the fourth quarter of 2014.

An affidavit stated that the retailer would require $2 million immediately to stay open within the interim and then at least $5 million annually to continue operations over the long-term. The company has been bleeding in the red with approximately $100,000 in losses per day.

HMV employs over 1,300 people across Canada, and most of its positions are within its retail locations. As stipulated by the court-approved sales guidelines, all HMV stores in the country must shut down by April 30.

Following its acquisition by HUK, the Canadian division of HMV underwent a restructuring, which led to the closure of a number of stores including the flagship 40,000-square-foot, three-storey store in downtown Vancouver at the intersection of Burrard and Robson streets. Smaller flagship stores in downtown Toronto and downtown Montreal remained open after the restructuring, but will close following this week’s court ruling.

Store locations on Bloor Street and at Eaton Centre have also closed over the past year, but HMV opened a store inside the new Tsawwassen Mills shopping centre near Vancouver just last October.

HMV also made attempts to diversify beyond its traditional product offerings in the years since its restructuring by selling vintage items and pop culture merchandise such as posters, memorabilia, mugs, but that was not enough to save the retailer. To its creative credit, it even converted an underground level at its Toronto flagship into a live music and entertainment venue.

The growth of music streaming and downloading has been explosive in recent years, with well over one billion downloads on Apple’s iTunes in 2016 and over 40 million paying users on Spotify by the start of last year’s fourth quarter.

Expect liquidated pricing at HMV stores beginning next week in an attempt to sell most of the company’s merchandise stock before the court-approved closure date.

HMV locations in Canada’s 4 biggest cities

Vancouver

  • Robson Street (1148 Robson Street, Vancouver)
  • Metropolis at Metrotown (4700 Kingsway, Burnaby)
  • Guildford Town Centre (10355 152nd Street, Surrey)
  • Tsawwassen Mills (5000 Canoe Pass Way, Tsawwassen)

Calgary

  • The Core Shopping Centre (317 7th Avenue SW, Calgary)
  • Chinook Centre (6455 Macleod Trail SW, Calgary)
  • Marlborough Mall (3800 Memorial Drive NE, Calgary)
  • Sunridge Mall (2525 36 Street NE, Calgary)
  • Market Mall (3625 Shaganappi Trail, Calgary)
  • Southcentre Mall (100 Anderson Road SE, Calgary)
  • CrossIron Mills (261055 CrossIron Boulevard, Rocky View)

Toronto

  • Toronto Eaton Centre (220 Yonge Street, Toronto
  • Toronto Superstore (333 Yonge Street, Toronto)
  • Dufferin Mall (900 Dufferin Street, Toronto)
  • Fairview Mall (1800 Sheppard Avenue East, Willowdale)
  • Sherway (25 The West Mall, Etobicoke)
  • Scarborough Town Centre (300 Borough Drive, Scarborough)
  • Square One (100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga)
  • Vaughan Mills (1 Bass Pro Mills Drive, Vaughan)
  • Bramalea City Centre (25 Peel Centre Drive, Bramalea)
  • Erin Mills Town Centre (5100 Erin Mills Parkway, Mississauga)
  • Pickering Town Centre (1355 Kingston Road, Pickering)
  • Upper Canada Mall (17600 Yonge Street, Newmarket)
  • Oshawa Centre (419 King Street West, Oshawa)

Montreal

  • Montreal Megatore (1020 Rue Sainte Catherine Ouest, Montreal)
  • Carrefour Angrignon (7077 Boulevard Newman, Lasalle)
  • Place Versailles (7275 Rue Sherbrooke Est, Montreal)
  • Galeries d’Anjou (799 Boulevard Les Galeries, D’Anjou)
  • Brossard (9375 Rue Leduc, Brossard)
  • Promenades St-Bruno (205 Boulevard Les Promenades, St-Bruno)
  • Carrefour Laval (3025 Boulevard Le Carrefour, Laval)
  • Faireview Pointe-Claire (6815 Trans Canadian Highway, Pointe-Claire)
  • Place Rosemere (401 Boulevard Labelle, Rosemere)
  • Galleries Terrebonne (1185 Boulevard Moody, Terrebonne)
  • Galeries Rive Nord (100 Boulevard Brien, Repentigny)
Kenneth ChanKenneth Chan

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