HMV on Oxford’s Cornmarket Street permanently closed on 22nd April following a decision by the landlord not to renew the shop’s lease.
Established in 1921 as a record shop, HMV has since expanded into a chain selling films, music, books, pop culture merchandise, and rare imported snacks. The company told Cherwell in a statement: “It is with regret that … we are unfortunately having to close the HMV Shop at 52 Cornmarket St, Oxford.”
The Cornmarket store has not been without its tribulations. The firm started trading in Oxford more than 30 years ago, but closed down its store in the Clarendon Centre in 2014. It returned in 2021, after a vinyl boom during the pandemic.
On the impact the closure would have on those working at the store, the statement continued: “Regrettably store colleagues are now considered at risk of redundancy and options are being discussed with everyone individually as part of the consultation process. HMV will do all it can to find roles for these colleagues in the existing store portfolio.”
The news comes only a month after Oxford’s Waterstones similarly announced its closure and relocation. It is part of a broader trend as outlets selling both print media and physical digital media come under pressure from online competition.
HMV further told Cherwell: “As we have no intention to stop serving our loyal customers in Oxford, we are actively looking for a new unit to restart trading as soon as possible and would encourage landlords and agents in Oxford to get in touch with new potential sites.”
Among the student body, reaction to the news of HMV’s closure has been mixed. One undergraduate told Cherwell: “Often after finishing my work at the library I’d go to HMV to buy a film which I’d relax and watch in the evening. I appreciate that fewer and fewer people are buying physical copies of films but I think it’s still an institution worth preserving and I think that Cornmarket will look much emptier now that HMV has left it.”
Also reacting to the news, and expressing less sentimentality at the news, another student told Cherwell: “There’s still a CeX in Cowley so it’s not that deep.”
