HMV has announced plans to devote an entire floor of its Oxford Street flagship store to books.
There will be more than 4,000 titles for sale and the 2,500 sq ft space will be home to a special area dedicated to live literary events.
HMV, which was founded over 100 years ago and is owned by JD Sports, reopened its 363 Oxford Circus store last year after closing the site – which was home to the first HMV store in 1921 – in 2019, when it went into administration for the second time. Its opening was one of a number of high street chain revivals at the time.
Earlier this year, the managing director of the retailer said that its DVD and Blu-Ray sales were on the rise, despite the popularity of streaming services like Netflix over the last decade. “People are willing to pay for a physical copy of shows or films they know they will rewatch,” Phil Halliday said, adding that the company was in “good health”.
Known for selling CDs, vinyl records, DVDs, technology, video games and merchandise, the retailer’s owner, Doug Putman, said he has “always wanted to expand the offering” into books – the retailer has sold books online and in-store for some time.
“The HMV 363 Bookshop space at our flagship will be unlike any other bookshop on the high street remaining true to our unique HMV Shop concept which centres around fans and community,” he said.
“While music is central to the HMV offer, we believe passionately in giving fans of popular culture a place to come, meet and explore the things they care about so deeply with likeminded people. We’ve done that with fans of music, film, popular culture and now through a carefully curated selection of books. We want to give our communities of readers a new place to connect with each other and celebrate the stories and characters they love.”
Competing with nearby bookshops Waterstones and Foyles, the new retailer will host readings, fan meet-ups and signings from internationally renowned authors.
“There’s a real buzz about Oxford Street and physical retail more generally,” Putman continued. “However, we’re only going to keep that magic if we continue to innovate and give our shoppers reasons to come back to us. We hope that the opportunity to discover the HMV bookshop will give people a great reason to come to HMV on Oxford Street this festive season.”
The HMV 363 Bookshop will open to the public on November 18.
