HMV vouchers no longer valid as chain enters administration
The music chain is the latest tech high street casualty, following Comet's closure last year, and more recently Jessops.
HMV is the latest UK retailer facing the prospect of complete closure, confirming that it had appointed administrators to value the ailing chain and look for prospective buyers.
In the meantime, it's bad news if you were given HMV vouchers for Christmas, as the BBC reports that the music, DVD, Blu-ray and video game shop is no longer accepting gift cards and vouchers. New gift cards will not be issued.
Several days ago we reported that HMV had extended a massive sale to raise cash following Christmas, speculating that the effort to flog stock was a gambit to keep the company afloat. It would seem our guess was on the money, as now financial company Deloitte has stepped in to manage the company's next steps.
Over 4,000 jobs are at risk, though HMV shops will stay open for now.
HMV's woes follow hot on the heels of photography chain Jessops closing for good just a few days ago, with 1,370 jobs lost. Last year Comet was slowly powered down, in a long process that saw shops closing doors for the last time on 18 December.
With HMV still doing business, you've got time to nab yourself a few Blu-rays on the cheap, though the implications of the 91-year-old company's closure are fairly massive.
The rise of convenient, cheap online shopping is blamed for the demise of established high-street chains, and it's becoming tough to think of tech retailers that maintain a brick-and-mortar presence. Maplins and PC World spring to mind as remaining retailers, but numbers are certainly dwindling.
Do you have HMV gift cards or vouchers you're now unable to use? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.