HMV has announced plans to close its flagship Oxford Street store just three years after reopening the site. The entertainment chain says it will leave the shop in March next year.
Rent increase 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”.
HMV said it 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. It said it would look to transfer affected workers to its two other London stores and head office while it looks for a new site.
History of the store
HMV made a grand reopening of its historic Oxford Street store in November 2023 after a four-year absence following a deal secured with landlords. The retailer – which first opened the Oxford Street site in 1921 – shut the store in 2019 after the retail chain tumbled into administration and was forced to axe shops and jobs. It was rescued from insolvency by Canadian Doug Putman’s Sunrise Records business.
Phil Halliday, managing director of HMV, said: “This is a special store, it’s where we began 100 years ago and bringing it back to life in 2023 was a big moment in our recent history. It’s frustrating that it has been made commercially unviable.
“However, we are looking ahead, and our focus is now on what we do to make exciting steps for HMV in 2027.”
Sales and staff plans
HMV has 123 stores across the UK. It said the Oxford Street closure plans come despite robust trading, with like-for-like sales up 15% across the group in the first nine months of 2026 and revenues for both shops and online trading set to reach over £240 million this year, up from £212 million in 2025.
The group said it remained committed to high street stores. Mr Halliday added: “We hope to redeploy affected team members through other London stores and head office roles and are exploring ways to minimise the impact on jobs while we seek a new flagship site.”
“We’re actively looking for a new location in the West End and are determined to give London a store that music fans can be proud of,” he added.
The announcement comes two weeks before the first phase of Oxford Street’s pedestrianisation gets under way. From Monday, October 26, almost a kilometre of Oxford Street between Orchard Street, near Selfridges, and Great Portland Street, just east of Oxford Circus, will be closed to general traffic. Buses, taxis, private hire vehicles, bicycles, scooters and pedicabs will all be diverted away from the stretch as the first phase of the long-awaited transformation gets under way.
