[URBAN NOTE] "HMV at the Eaton Centre to close"
NOW Toronto's Matt Williams reports on the impending closure of HMV's Eaton Centre store.
Now’s the time to stock up on all your Bob Marley posters, Sopranos DVD box sets and goofy Avengers action figures. hmv Canada recently announced that it won’t be renewing its lease at the Eaton Centre, and right now the entire store is on sale.
The news isn’t a huge shock: digital streaming continues its rise, and while vinyl sales haven’t overtaken CD sales yet, the latter is falling every year as the former steadily grows - and hmv stores are stocked with a lot of CDs.
But hmv Canada attributes the closure to its “long-term real estate strategy,” which has seen stores open and close across the country over the past decade. It can’t be cheap to rent out a space that large in Eaton Centre.
In the company's official statement, Chief Financial Officer Harvey Berkley brings up another factor. “Unfortunately, the high real estate costs for this property have made it challenging to operate a profitable store. Given hmv Canada operates its 26,000 square foot flagship location across the street at Yonge and Dundas, [closing the Eaton Centre location] was a sensible decision.”
Now’s the time to stock up on all your Bob Marley posters, Sopranos DVD box sets and goofy Avengers action figures. hmv Canada recently announced that it won’t be renewing its lease at the Eaton Centre, and right now the entire store is on sale.
The news isn’t a huge shock: digital streaming continues its rise, and while vinyl sales haven’t overtaken CD sales yet, the latter is falling every year as the former steadily grows - and hmv stores are stocked with a lot of CDs.
But hmv Canada attributes the closure to its “long-term real estate strategy,” which has seen stores open and close across the country over the past decade. It can’t be cheap to rent out a space that large in Eaton Centre.
In the company's official statement, Chief Financial Officer Harvey Berkley brings up another factor. “Unfortunately, the high real estate costs for this property have made it challenging to operate a profitable store. Given hmv Canada operates its 26,000 square foot flagship location across the street at Yonge and Dundas, [closing the Eaton Centre location] was a sensible decision.”