A few weeks back, music retailer and entertainment company HMV announced that it had officially entered administration. Though little information on the company's future was offered, HMV did say that it had appointed Deloitte as an administrator. Deloitte in turn said it would be keeping stores open while it assesses HMV's situation and seeks a buyer. Unfortunately, it seems some stores are set to close after all.
The BBC reports that a third of the UK's HMV locations will be closing. The broadcaster cites Deloitte in reporting that a total of 66 stores in the United Kingdom will close. This includes 21 stores in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and 45 stores in England.
"This step has been taken in order to enhance the prospects of securing the business' future as a going concern," the BBC quotes Nick Edwards, joint administrator at Deloitte as saying.
No date has been given for the store closures, though it's understood that a total of 930 staff will lose their jobs. Deloitte recently laid off 190 staff working at HMV corporate. Late January brought word that Hilco, the same company that purchased HMV Canada from HMV Group last year, had purchased HMV's debt. Last year's sale of HMV Canada to Hilco is the reason why the Canadian HMV stores are unaffected by HMV Group's financial problems.
