‘There’s nothing quite like browsing through CDs and vinyl in-store’: HMV set to return to its first ever site in Oxford Street
HMV is set to make a return to its original Oxford Street location after a four-year absence, with a lease signed to confirm the reopening later this year.
The announcement of the new central London location represents the latest sign of a dramatic turnaround for the business under Canadian owner Doug Putman, who took over in 2019. Under his tenure, the business has taken a fan and community-orientated focus.
363 Oxford Street will feature HMV’s new logo and is expected to stock a huge range of pop culture merchandise, vinyl, film, TV and music technology.
Mr Putman said: “The expansion of our fan-focused pop culture offer is really working for us and the reopening of our flagship represents the culmination of a good few years of hard work.”
In the past year, HMV shops in the UK have welcomed artists such as Charli XCX, Stormzy, Shania Twain, Raye and Ellie Goulding for signings, and the central London shop is expected to draw names of similar quality.
It’s also set to stage performances from up-and-coming acts through the HMV Live&Local programme.
363 Oxford Street played host to the very first HMV store in 1921, and over the decades it became renowned as a community hub for music fans and one of the UK’s most famous retail destinations.
In 1995, Blur performed a memorable rooftop gig to launch their Great Escape album, recorded by cameras mounted on helicopters circling the store.
A year later, the store hosted the Spice Girls’ Christmas Lights switch-on. Some 6,000 people watched on, and Geri Halliwell later famously remarked that it was the point she realised they had ‘made it’ into the big-time.
Councillor Geoff Barraclough, Westminster City council’s cabinet member for planning and economic development, said: “It’s fantastic to see this iconic brand back on Oxford Street, where it stood as a driver of music and pop culture in the capital for so long.
“The return of this famous name is proof that there’s a buzz back in the West End.
“There’s nothing quite like browsing through CDs and vinyl in-store.
“As a teenager who bought his first LP in an HMV shop some decades ago, I look forward to reliving that experience.”
Pictured top: HMV Wigan, which shares the same new fan focused interior concept that 363 Oxford Street will be fitted with (Picture: HMV)