Tuesday 15th January, 2012

So HMV has gone bust. Not much of a surprise. It was already looking like a bit of a dinosaur on the high street with its row upon row of CDs – who buys them? But there’s something sadder about the loss of HMV than simply another corporate going under. Like Woolworth’s, HMV was part of the fabric of our high streets – the place where you could go on a wet Saturday with a few pounds and always walk away with something.

Despite negotiating new terms with suppliers on a more or less “sale or return” basis, the company simply couldn’t survive the digital age. In the days where market share relied on a physical presence, HMV was king – but bricks and mortar can never compete with the ubiquitous nature of internet shopping.

In many ways – HMV was the Madonna of the high street – a brand which knew how to re-invent itself and pass creeping middle age off as cutting edge youth. And it was a valiant and laudable effort, but as with most things – every dog has its day (if you’ll excuse the pun).

But it’s more than HMV staff who are the losers – in fact, more than our increasingly deserted high streets – but all the hundreds of suppliers for whom a contract with HMV was a lifeline. That there are some rich pickings still to be had from the carcass is beyond doubt – let’s just hope it’s a phoenix it attracts – not vultures.

On the plus side – my battered 1920s HMV gramophone is looking like a better investment than this time last week…