HMV To Return To Ireland?

Restructuring specialist Hilco is in negotiations with landlords in hopes of reestablishing HMV in Ireland, according to The Irish Times.

Declan Stone of estate agents Colliers International confirmed that Hilco wants to open up to six stores and is targeting Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick.

HMV had 16 stores across the state until February, when it went into receivership.

The entire chain was shuttered and 300 people lost their jobs, causing 30 staff from the company’s two outlets in Limerick to stage a sit-in when they realized they weren’t getting paid.

Some staffers hadn’t been paid since the week before Christmas. 

Following receivership, Hilco completed a £50 million deal for 141 HMV shops in the hopes of repeating the success it achieved in turning around the entertainment retailer’s Canadian business.

The deal will likely save 2,500 jobs, although more than 1,000 have been lost with the closure of 81 outlets including Piccadilly Circus in London, Cambridge, and HMV’s major sites at London’s international airports.

The Daily Telegraph says Sports Direct, the UK’s largest sporting retailer, is in talks with Hilco about acquiring the lease to HMV’s flagship store on Oxford Street.