HMV to return to Ireland for the first time in seven years

Big news for music lovers and people who love flicking through posters.

HMV (His Master's Voice), the once-popular music retail store will once again open up in Ireland for the first time in seven years. A new outlet will open on Dublin's Henry Street by mid-July and the company has indicated more will follow. It will be the first new flagship store outside the UK, where it currently has 120. The retailer closed its last five remaining stores in Ireland in 2016 after it entered administration and went online only, before the website also shut down two years later. The decline of CD sales and the rise of music streaming majorly damaged the music retail industry. However, Canadian businessman Doug Putman took over the company in 2019 and it has since seen a turnaround, pivoting to fan culture merchandise and providing live music spaces. "Our return to Ireland marks the culmination of the team’s hard work having established a new HMV shopping experience across the UK," said Mr Putman. "We are now in a position to expand that concept into Europe. While fans will be able to get their hands on the latest and limited release vinyl and the hottest audio technology, truly indulging their love of music, they will also be able to express their passion for pop culture with ranges that can’t be found anywhere else in Dublin under one roof." Putman, who is CEO of the company Sunrise Records, bought HMV out of administration, saving 100 stores and nearly 1,500 jobs in the process. They also recently announced the company would be returning to its old Oxford Street store, which closed down in 2019. Putman also stated that he hopes more stores will open back up on the island following the hopeful success of the Henry Street operation. "We want Henry Street to become a home for a new community of fans to come together," he stated. "What's more, we hope that once we’ve got our feet back under the table in Ireland, further HMV shop openings will follow."

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