HMV has announced plans to close its flagship Oxford Street store just three years after reopening the site, blaming a doubling in rent demands. The entertainment chain said it would leave the shop in March next year, but is hunting for a site in London’s West End district for its new flagship shop as it vowed to keep a “significant presence” in the capital.
Rent and renovation costs
The group said landlords have proposed doubling the rent on the site at 363 Oxford Street, although it said it was also facing a bill for “substantial” renovation works at the store, which together would make the shop “commercially unsustainable”.
Staff and future plans
HMV said it would look to transfer affected workers to its two other London stores and head office while it looks for a new site.
