HMV in Ireland is to close for good with the loss of 300 jobs, the receiver has announced.
Deloitte Ireland partner David Carson was appointed as receiver to the entertainment retail chain in the middle of January with the stated aim of carrying out an "assessment of the viability of the company and its cost structure, including property occupational costs".
However, Mr Carson has today confirmed that HMV's 16 stores will not reopen and all 300 staff, previously placed on temporary lay-off, will now be made redundant.
The receiver said that the "marketplace is very difficult given competition from web-based retailers and digital downloads".
The problems posed by a changed retail landscape was, he said, "compounded by a number of other factors including high levels of rent"
He said that all the HMV stores were loss making and it was not possible to attract a purchaser.
Staff at a number of Irish HMV outlets last month staged sit-in protests over the failure of the company to pay wages due prior to the closure of the stores. The protests were called off after the staff received guarantees from Deloitte that their wages would be paid.
HMV’s administrators in the UK last week announced plans to close 66 shops, nine of which were in Northern Ireland, with the loss of nearly 1,000 jobs.
Last month, HMV asked its suppliers, which include music labels, games makers and film companies, for about £300 million in additional financing to pay off its bank debt, and fund an overhaul of the company’s business model. The proposal was turned down.
Hopes of a rescue deal for the group, which currently has 220 stores in the UK, were raised last week after restructuring firm Hilco – the group behind HMV Canada – bought the company’s debt.
Dara Calleary, Fianna Fail's jobs spokesman, said the demise of HMV in Ireland was a very sad moment for retail in the country.
"HMV was an iconic part of the high street on this island," he said.
"Not only was it popular with Irish consumers of all ages, its 16 stores provided valued employment to hundreds of younger workers throughout the years."
