Update: 'HMV could have remained trading'

HMV Limerick could have reminded trading. That is the unequivocal view of Chris Keena, the manager of the shop, which is located in Limerick Crescent Shopping Centre. Chris was speaking to Hot Press from the store tonight, about the controversial decision to close the entertainment retailing giant's shops in Ireland.

HMV went into administration in the UK late on Monday and a receiver was subsequently appointed to the Irish company, following public protests and targeted looting by customers, in response to the Irish stores' refusal to honour gift tokens. A sit-in by staff is currently in progress in the Limerick outlet.

"We're taking this stand, because we feel, fundamentally that our shop, like the rest of the Irish operation should be kept open," the Limerick store manager stated. "Over the Christmas period and into the new year it was performing extremely well. We feel our shop mirrors the rest of the Irish operation. The shops have been very well run. The Limerick City store on Cruise's St won Store of the Year, singled out from the entire 200+ outlets in the chain, for two years running. There are intelligent, committed and enthusiastic staff throughout all of the shops, and so it would be shame to see all of the product knowledge and commitment of those 300 staff simply disappearing."

Does Chris see any hope of a rescue happening?

"The whole event has been like a whirlwind so I don't know," Chris said. "We found out about HMV entering administration from SkyNews on Monday night. Things moved very quickly from there and our protest reflects the lack of fairness in this process.

"There's the human element in relation to the staffing, in that I do feel it vital that the 12 staff, who I managed, and to whom I feel responsible, get what is owed to them in terms of their wages. However, perhaps as importantly, we are concerned about what's at risk, in a wider sense, for the Irish Music Industry."

As many are now realising, this could represent the ultimate body-blow.

"We have had people from independent labels asking: 'If there's no HMV what's the point in releasing albums in Ireland'? It's a good question. We sold CDs distributed by everyone – from Dara and Indientertainment to showband labels – alongside the large commercial artists, because we had a viable market for them.

"It's a shop that's been built for it's audience. For example, there's a strong market for Country 'n' Irish – so selling Declan Nerney is as important to the team as selling Rihanna. It's also a vital cog for the local bands – we've got people from bands working in the shop, we stock the local bands records and try to be sure they get racked well. It all adds up. Windings album was a big one for us in that regard. We had the freedom from head office to help shape the shop as we felt our customers wanted – and the results were there in sales."

The implications for other shops in the Crescent centre are also potentially serious.

"Limerick Crescent is a fantastically busy shopping centre where people come from all over Munster, because it's just off the motorway and there's space for 1,500 cars in the car park. HMV in Limerick Crescent gets about 10% of the footfall of the centre, which is huge".
So who knows what the impact will be on the other shops if HMV remains closed? How has Chris found the attitude of the receiver?

"We have had contact from Deloitte and they were respectful and understanding with us in their dealings," he told Hot Press. "We understand that they have been given an extremely difficult task – to come into a situation like this and try and understand a large business at very short notice.

"However, the clear message we want to send to them," Chris added, "is that these shops can be reopened, extremely quickly. There's a viable business there, with 300 experienced employees, ready to go."

Amen to that.