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Music Stores (HMV, Virgin, Sunrise)

A

alklay

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I too find it a bit odd, if not disturbing, that people can get excited about things like Virgin records (same cds as HMV, different colour carpet) or Ambercrombie (sp) & Fitch (because Toronto has a shortage of places to buy overpriced jeans and t-shirts!!??).

Homoginization is a concern, as is the influence of manipulative marketing. A little more lamenting is in order over the growth and spread of these 'small box' retail stores.
 
I thought HMV's not in the US anymore? Anyway, you guys have a point. I think retail could be a lot more interesting. But the projects that we're talking about are pretty big. I mean, it's not like we're discussing the newest Mail Boxes, Etc. opening at Bellamy and Lawrence (I made it up, unfortunately), but these are bigger retail projects like Chapters on Bloor, which is significant as a meeting point, a library and a hanging out place too. It's only retail, folks.

In the Metropolis thread, there's some speculation/confirmation that Virgin Megastore's not in the project anymore. Anyone know anything about that? I went to the Pen Equity website and it only has a short two-page summation of the project (which I guess since there's the new Hall of Fame will need to be redesigned), and only mentions AMC and Future Shop. Does that mean Virgin Megastore and other shops are gone (I only remember Wolfgang Puck and Cinnabon off the top of my head)?
 
It was announced today that it will close by September. Virgin Megastore opened in Vancouver in 1996. The same building has also seen Planet Hollywood come and go. It could be that their lease expires - it'll be almost 10 years when it closes.

Brettons had stores in at least Toronto, Ottawa and Burnaby. Probably also West Edmonton Mall, but not sure.
 
Given what it used to be, it might be poetic justice for Vancouver's Virgin building to become an Indigo, or maybe a Canuckistan debut for Barnes & Noble/Borders, or something like that
 
PRESS RELEASE

HMV to Open Canada’s largest store dedicated to music and DVD

For Immediate Release. Toronto, ON. June 28, 2005

HMV Canada Inc, Canada’s leading music retailer and fastest-growing DVD chain, announces today that it will open the country’s largest store dedicated to music and DVD, on the site currently occupied by Virgin Megastore in Vancouver, B.C.. As a result, Virgin’s only Canadian Virgin Megastore, located on Vancouver’s Burrard Street, will cease from trading under the Virgin brand name on September 4th, 2005. as Virgin Entertainment Group has decided to withdraw from the Canadian marketplace to enable resources to be fully focused on its retail business in the United States

The 40,000 square foot, three-level store is located on the corner of Robson Street and Burrard Street in central Vancouver, the city’s busiest and most prestigious retail destination.

When it opens for business on September 4 2005, the new HMV flagship location will offer the most extensive selection of CD’s and DVDs in a single store in Canada, with access to a range of more than 400,000 different titles.

With eight stores already located in the greater Vancouver area, and a further two stores opening in Burnaby the summer of 2005 in Lougheed Town Centre and Metrotown Centre, HMV will be the city’s number one music retailer and fastest-growing DVD chain.

Humphrey Kadaner, President of HMV Canada, commented:

“Vancouver is a key market for HMV. Not only is it Canada’s third largest city, but Vancouver also has a great music and movies tradition, making it a fitting location to open HMV Canada’s biggest store to date. Our prime retail location on the corner of Robson and Burrard puts HMV right at the heart of a city which is preparing to ‘welcome the world’ for the 2010 Olympics, and we are delighted to offer Canada’s biggest selection of music and DVD from our new store.â€


Employees of the Vancouver Virgin Megastore will be offered continuous employment with HMV. Virgin Entertainment Group wishes to thank all of its staff, customers and suppliers for their support of the Vancouver Virgin Megastore.

About HMV
With over*80+ years of music retailing history,*370 stores worldwide and 102 stores in Canada and growing, HMV is the world's premier retailer of music. HMV is Canada's leading music retailer and*it's fastest growing DVD*destination. HMV has proven itself as an innovative leader in Canada since 1986 and has been named Canadian Music Retailer of the Year for the past 17 years and most recently named Canadian DVD Retailer of the Year - making HMV the only retailer in Canada to receive both honours in the same year.* HMV.com, which launched in July 1999, is now powered by Amazon.ca, and offers Canada's largest on-line music and DVD*selection.
 
I was going to if HMV was going to close down it's existing downtown Vancouver store, but I went to their site, and saw that they no longer have one. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing an HMV on Robson St. (was I wrong?), when did it close?
 
That's not good news for Toronto's Virgin Megastore (at Metropolis). Isn't there a big HMV nearby the Vancouver Virgin Megastore already? I hate how HMV is driving everyone else away, it's getting near anti-competitive. Tower Records cited HMV's dominance as one of the two reasons it closed its Toronto/Canada stores, the other reason being their own financial troubles. I like big music stores (like Sam and HMV) but I wish it were anything but HMV. Music World's only got small mall stores and there isn't any other nationwide competition (except for the Wal-Marts and Future Shops in the 'burbs). I hope the independents at least, don't feel the pinch.

I remember when Heather Reisman wanted to bring Borders to Canada. They were going to have a partnership, but in the end it didn't work out because of concerns over Canadian content. So in the end she created Indigo, which as we all know became a part of the only book chain in Canada.

^Good to see that Winners is willing to pay such a high amount for rent in Yorkville.
 
HMV closed its Robson St. store due to high rents several years ago - could have been back as far as 2000.

BTW - stores on Bloor are higher end than Robson.
 
That's not good news for Toronto's Virgin Megastore (at Metropolis)

The press release states Virgin will concentrate on the US which means no Toronto store. The problem with Virgin is the problem Tower had. They are too small in Canada. As such they get little in co-op money for advertising as the labels concentrated on their best customers. Hence the deals almost always were found at the larger chains like HMV. Hard for little guys to compete with this.
 
yep....virgin are toast at metropolis.....oh well....hope they find another suitable retailer for when it opens, in 2035...;)
 
Does it really matter that much? You can get "mainstream" stuff just as cheap and easily at countless other places. If you're looking for more obscure/specialty-type stuff, Toronto has lots of music shops that specialize in that kind of stuff. Virgin wouldn't have offered anything that other nearby stores don't already have.
 
I wonder if the withdrawl of Virgin in Canada was decided after it lost the Metropolis spot to Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and they decided they couldn't just operate with one store. Or if they decided to leave anyway because Metropolis is taking too long, and CMHF just took the spot afterwards.
__________________________________
Virgin's withdrawal music to HMV's ears

By MARINA STRAUSS
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 Updated at 12:56 AM EDT
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

While a flashy music retailing icon is pulling out of Canada, the country's dominant merchant in the sector is mapping out expansion plans — even as the industry is being hit by competition from discounters and on-line music downloaders.

HMV Canada Inc., with 102 stores here, is eyeing another 50 over the next several years. At the same time, it is snapping up the Vancouver mega-outlet soon to be abandoned by Richard Branson's Virgin Entertainment Group Inc. “While there are, of course, challenges in the market today, as there are in many industries, we are of the opinion that there are also opportunities, and we are actively pursuing those,†Humphrey Kadaner, president of HMV Canada, said in an e-mail interview.

HMV was helped by its decision about two years ago to bolster the number of DVDs it carries.

Meanwhile, British parent HMV Group PLC closed the last of its money-losing U.S. stores late last year — having abandoned that market just before Virgin decided to exit Canada.

It's an example of how global retailers must sometimes turn up the volume in countries where they can dominate, and switch off in markets where they can't be a leader, said David Gray, a retailing consultant at Sixth Line Solutions in Vancouver.

He said Virgin has made a conscious decision to focus on its U.S. superstores, while HMV is doing what it can to boost the business in Canada.

In an industry as tough as music retailing, something had to give, he said. “It's just been a bad stretch for music,†Mr. Gray said. “The guys that really get squeezed are the retailers.â€

It was almost nine years ago that the flamboyant Mr. Branson rappelled down the side of the five-storey building, spraying champagne onto the crowd during a celebrity-studded event to mark Virgin music stores entry into Canada.

But it was risky from the start. After all, Vancouver has been one of the most competitive music markets, with perpetual price wars that have led to some of the lowest prices in the world, according to a number of observers.

“I don't see anything on the horizon that suggests a real turnaround in the fundamentals of the industry,†Mr. Gray said.

Despite the challenges, HMV Canada has seen improvements.

Its parent reported Tuesday that the Canadian division's annual sales of about $370-million rose, on a same-store basis, by 13.5 per cent in the year ended April 30. For the seven weeks ended June 18, same-store sales jumped 12.3 per cent. Same-store sales are those at outlets open a year or more, and are considered a key barometer in retailing.

More than 40 per cent of HMV Canada's sales now comprise DVDs, and that business is growing, Mr. Kadaner said.

He is also closely following the parent company's move into the digital world. In late 2004, HMV Group teamed with Microsoft Corp. to develop software for the retailer's new digital downloading service for Britain. It is to be rolled out in September.

Music retailers have been forced to find new areas of growth — especially in DVDs — over the past few years to deal with the challenges in their core field.

The pressure was evident in early 2005 when the venerable A&B Sound Ltd. of Vancouver filed for bankruptcy protection. It was another victim of Wal-Mart Canada Corp., Best Buy Canada and others, all selling music at deep discounts.

Meanwhile, everybody has had to deal with competition from free on-line music downloads.

Virgin said Tuesday that it will close its sole mega-store in Canada, never having gone ahead with a planned expansion. It had slated Toronto as its next destination for another huge outlet.

“It is not feasible to continue to run a single store in Canada any longer,†Virgin's North American entertainment division said in a statement.

The move means that Virgin will no longer make plans for stores in Canada, a spokeswoman confirmed.

It will allow Virgin to focus on investing in its U.S. business.
 
HMV in TD Centre? Are you sure? They already have a store in FCP on the next block North, so this doesn't seem to make much sense.
 
HMV in TD Centre? Are you sure? They already have a store in FCP on the next block North, so this doesn't seem to make much sense.
Positive. Their small FCP location is one of the best performing in the chain and they feel there's easily room for another store in the PATH.
 

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