In the 80s I used to drive up to Montreal from Boston to buy Bruce Cockburn CDs that weren't available in the U.S. The HMV on St. Catherine was a great resource. Of course, there were other things to do on St. Catherine too.
_________________ Don't believe half of what you see and none of what you hear
Ha! When they started bleeding a year or more ago they introduced a paid membership card to get points. I told the guy hyping it, "Why would I pay for that when your company is doing so bad now? You may not be AROUND in a year." He assured me that the company was doing great.
Trans World Entertainment Corp., the Albany, New York-based owner of music and video chain FYE, reported lower sales during the Christmas holiday shopping season.
Sales in stores open at least a year fell 3 percent during the five-week and nine-week periods that ended Dec. 29.
Total sales were down 17 percent, to $128 million.
Trans World operated an average of 14 percent fewer stores during the nine-week period than it did a year earlier.
In the 80s I used to drive up to Montreal from Boston to buy Bruce Cockburn CDs that weren't available in the U.S. The HMV on St. Catherine was a great resource. Of course, there were other things to do on St. Catherine too.
In the 80s I used to drive up to Montreal from Boston to buy Bruce Cockburn CDs that weren't available in the U.S. The HMV on St. Catherine was a great resource. Of course, there were other things to do on St. Catherine too.
_________________ Alan
"This is a true story, except for the parts that didn't happen." - Steven Wright
Unfortunately, there's now a Foot Locker there. The HMV store had been moved a couple of blocks down the street. I stopped in and bought a couple of Beatles CDs, just to say that I had.
In the 80s I used to drive up to Montreal from Boston to buy Bruce Cockburn CDs that weren't available in the U.S. The HMV on St. Catherine was a great resource. Of course, there were other things to do on St. Catherine too.
Is that the place with the loud music and table dances?
_________________ Don't believe half of what you see and none of what you hear
It is estimated consumers with HMV's now worthless gift vouchers may have lost £100m. Photograph Chris Helgren/Reuters A senior Tory backbench MP has accused HMV bosses of committing theft by continuing to sell vouchers when they must have been aware "there was little prospect of those vouchers or gift cards ever being redeemed".
Sir Tony Baldry, a practising barrister specialising in commercial law, said "directors and management must have known that the company was at very real risk of failure" whilst they continued selling vouchers "all through Christmas and up until the day they went into administration".
His comments came as voucher experts said consumers have probably lost at least £100m in now worthless HMV vouchers. Andrew Johnson, the director general of the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association, said many retailers sell up to 60% of the £4bn of vouchers sold in the UK every year in the run-up to Christmas.
Baldry, MP for Banbury, said there was a "legitimate question" of whether HMV's directors were "obtaining property by deception, ie offences against the Theft Act, in allowing their stores to continue to sell vouchers and gift cards when they must have known that there was little prospect of those vouchers or gift cards ever being redeemed".
Just days before Christmas, HMV's bosses warned investors that there was "significant doubt on the group's ability to continue as a going concern in the future". Yet it continued to sell vouchers to the public, many of whom were unaware of HMV's parlous financial position, until just hours before the company entered into administration.
A spokesman for HMV's directors said: "Until as late as early afternoon on Monday, the directors believed that they had a reasonable prospect of avoiding insolvency and were satisfied that they were complying with all of their legal obligations including in respect of gift cards. When it became clear to the board late on Monday afternoon that they had no option than to file for administration, they issued immediate instructions to all stores to stop selling gift cards."
HMV and Deloitte, its administrator, refuse to say how much money consumers have lost on vouchers they are refusing to honour. Other administrators said Deloitte must know how much money is held in unsold vouchers.
Baldry said in a letter to the Department for Business (BIS) it was "more than unfair" that consumers should be left out of pocket when retailers refuse gift vouchers. He called on BIS to change the law to protect the public. "A gift voucher should be as good as a bankers draft, ie a consumer should know that they will either be able to redeem the gift voucher, or get their money back, and there is absolutely no reason why companies shouldn't keep monies raised from gift cards or vouchers in a separate account," he said.
Ian Murray, Labour's shadow minister for consumer affairs, said he had written to HMV and Deloitte to ask them to immediately disclose how much money the public has lost in HMV vouchers. "It will strike consumers as unfair that whilst the company is still trading, they are unable to use gift cards and vouchers," he said. "I hope that HMV and its administrators will be able to reconsider their decision."
Johnson said the board of the GCVA would discuss whether to allow a resurrected HMV to remain a member of the association if it continues to refuse to honour the vouchers. He added that public pressure could force the administrators to reverse their decision and honour the vouchers. The same team of Deloitte administrators started accepting Comet vouchers following publicity about a four-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer unable to buy an iPad with vouchers from the electricals retailer that collapsed before Christmas.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said it was "outrageous" that consumers have been left out of pocket. "We want the rules on gift vouchers and insolvency to be reviewed to ensure consumers are adequately protected in cases like this," he added.
Dean Dunham, founder of consumer rights website youandyourrights.co.uk, said it was "morally appalling" that HMV's bosses continued to sell vouchers "when they would've known they were in trouble and going into administration, and they knew the first thing administrator would do would be to take them."
HMV Ireland collapsed into receivership yesterday and 16 shops in the Republic closed their doors. Receivership is more serious than the administration process in the UK, which increases fears for HMV's 300 Irish jobs.
A grandfather who bought his grandson a €40 HMV gift voucher for Christmas walked out of a Dublin HMV with three computer games on Tuesday after staff refused to accept the voucher.
A grandfather who bought his grandson a €40 HMV gift voucher for Christmas walked out of a Dublin HMV with three computer games on Tuesday after staff refused to accept the voucher.
Borders was accepting gift cards until close to the end. After my local store closed up, the next closest still accepted them for another two-three months until (or until close to) they closed.
_________________ Alan
"This is a true story, except for the parts that didn't happen." - Steven Wright
Pretty sure the U.S. has consumer protection laws preventing that sort of gift card debacle from happening.
I think these generally vary by state, with some (the obvious candidates) much more protective of their citizens than others. I doubt there's much at the federal level to fall back on.
It is understood that Deloitte will this week announce plans to close between 60 and 100 HMV stores, resulting in the loss of up to 1,500 jobs. The shops will not close immediately, however, but will remain open until they have run out of stock.
A source close to HMV said the administrators were preparing to take the “next stage of restructuring” at the retailer. The restructuring plans are being considered this weekend, with the location of the stores to close still to be finalised.
However, Deloitte and Hilco, which has bought HMV’s debt, believe that for it to emerge as a viable high-street retailer the company must reduce its portfolio of stores to between 120 and 160 shops.
HMV, which has 223 UK shops in total and employed more than 4,000 staff, called in Deloitte last month. Last week, the administrators cut 190 HMV jobs at the company’s head office.
As part of the restructuring, one of HMV’s two flagship shops in central London is likely to close. The store on Oxford Street is profitable, while HMV’s Piccadilly Circus location is loss-making. However, there is significant demand from foreign retailers for large stores on Oxford Street.
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