The store’s return to Kingston was welcomed by music lovers
The music store HMV reopened on Friday, 22nd November, in Kingston. The new store is on the first floor of the Bentall Centre and features a modern layout with a diverse selection of music, movies, and gaming products. The previous store had been shut down temporarily on 22nd March 2022.
Around 30 people gathered for the reopening, where customers were greeted with goodie bags.
“We are very excited and happy to be back in Kingston after a long time,” said store manager Brendan Andrews. “People have been speaking to us while we were closed or getting the shop ready to open, and they all seemed excited.”
Megan Winder, a student, expressed her excitement about the store reopening. “I am a big fan of HMV in general, so when I found out one was opening locally, I was very excited to come and see it.
“It [HMV] includes a lot of things I enjoy, and the staff are very nice,” Winder said.
Georgie Capon, an employee working in the store, said that she remembered going into HMV stores as a kid and is glad that it is back. “It reminds me of my childhood a lot,” she said.
Capon said that in a time of online streaming platforms like Netflix, there is more competition for physical stores like HMV. “But you can see there’s many people who have turned up, and you can see that physical media isn’t dead yet,” she said.
HMV also has offers as part of its reopening, like 3 vinyls for £66, and pop culture posters, which cost £4.99 for one and £12 for three.
The store has separate sections for Taylor Swift and K-pop, along with other pop culture trends, where fans can browse through their favourite fandoms’ collections.
