HMV will open the doors on its biggest store on Friday (October 11).
The HMV Vault in Birmingham - Europe’s largest music and entertainment space – is a 25,000 sq ft space. It’s a bold move from new owner Doug Putman, who’s already invested more than £1 million on new units for an expanded vinyl range across the entire chain.
The new store will feature an opening performance from Liam Payne. He will be followed by sets from James Arthur, The Murder Capital and local bands over its opening weekend.
HMV has made a multi-million investment in the store in Dale End, close to the city centre in a former IKEA warehouse space. It has been built with a custom-designed in-store performance space at its heart, in order to lure international and up-and-coming artists to perform live in the city.
The store will stock more than 100,000 LPs and CDs to offer the widest range of access to physical formats for fans across genres. It will also be the first retailer to be able to offer every film available on 4K UHD (20,000 Blu-ray and over 40,000 DVD titles), alongside a range of 7,000 music-related books and music-inspired fashion and merchandise. Staff will be able to advise on music tech, ranging from turntables to headphones.
Putman said: “I am a firm believer in the potential for British high street retail and HMV will play a fundamental role in ensuring that our shopping districts continue to thrive.
“Retail offers two things a purely digital experience of music simply can’t – the opportunity to experience the biggest acts live in our stores and our ability to offer a platform to new artists in the communities where we operate, as well as opportunities for fans to come together and share their passion for music and film with our dedicated staff.
“The HMV Vault has been built with the needs of the modern music and film fan at its heart with a permanent live performance space and an unparalleled range catering to the full breadth of our customers’ tastes.”
According to research by the IFPI, 57% of people in the UK say they love or are “fanatical” about music. The research found that the UK ranks higher than the global average for every age group in terms of CD and LP purchasing, with nearly a third (30%) of British consumers buying music on an at-least monthly basis.
Putman added: “I want our stores to be at the heart of a community of music and film fans and a place where they can not only satisfy their passion, they can also meet each other and discover new artists as well as see some of the biggest names in the business perform. The HMV Vault will become the home of music in Birmingham so I can’t wait to welcome the city’s fans through our doors.”
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