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HMV closing 37 more shops, nearly half of branches now axed

More bad news for HMV -- 37 more branches are to close, threatening another 464 jobs and taking the total to 103 axed stores.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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Richard Trenholm
2 min read

More bad news for HMV: 37 stores are to close, threatening another 464 jobs across Britain from Glasgow to Torquay.

Announcing the closures on Facebook, HMV says they are "sad and regrettable", thanking "affected colleagues" for their "amazing contribution over many years and continued tremendous passion and commitment."

The branches newly marked for closure are: 

  • Ashford
  • Basildon
  • Bolton
  • Cheltenham
  • East Kilbride
  • Enfield
  • Folkestone
  • Glasgow Argyle
  • Gloucester
  • Grimsby
  • Hatfield Galleria
  • Heathrow Terminal 5 - Departure Level
  • Heathrow Terminal 1
  • Heathrow Terminal 3
  • Heathrow Terminal 4
  • Hemel Hempstead
  • High Wycombe
  • Isle of Wight
  • Lancaster
  • Leadenhall
  • Mansfield
  • Middlesbrough
  • Newbury
  • Newcastle Silverlink
  • Newport
  • Nuneaton
  • Redditch
  • Salisbury
  • Scarborough
  • Southport
  • Stafford
  • Staines
  • Stockport
  • Swindon
  • Taunton
  • Torquay
  • Woking

The struggling music and video chain has already announced 66 store closures, axing nearly 1,000 jobs. That takes the total number of planned closures to at least 103 -- nearly half HMV's branches around the UK. The chain has also disappeared entirely from Ireland, at the cost of 300 jobs.

HMV went into administration in January, but restructuring firm Hilco stepped in and bought the company's debt. The HMV name will survive, but in a drastically reduced form.

The shutters will come down on the axed stores at some point in the next couple of months. In the meantime, sales continue: this week stores knocked 20 per cent off the iPad and iPod.

Is your local HMV closing? Have you bagged a final bargain? Can HMV survive or is oblivion inevitable? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Image: Sameer Vasta