HMV Lancaster, located in Lancaster town centre, has been unable to comment about the possible closure of the store.
As reported by BBC News, restructuring firm Hilco has taken control of music and DVD retailer HMV after it fell into debt. HMV acquired debt of an estimated £176 million and went into administration after being hit by competition from online rivals, supermarkets, and illegal music and film downloads.
However, Hilco has now taken on this debt from the group’s lenders, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland – a move which was supported by film and music industry giants including Universal Music and Sony.
HMV’s administrators, Deloitte, told BBC News that they were working closely with Hilco as they “continue to seek a positive outcome for the business”, and conserve the retailer’s presence on the high street.
As reported by BBC News, HMV has 223 UK stores in total, and a workforce of around 4,000 people. However, with HMV Lancaster unable to comment on their possible closure, there seems to be a continuing trend regarding the risk of closure to smaller branches of high street stores, as Waterstones, which was part of the HMV group up until May 2011, also closed its store in Alexandra Square on campus in November 2011.
It seems that, where large companies such as Waterstones and HMV struggle, smaller branches of the chain may be most at risk of closure.
