The proposed plan would see buyvia saving a number of retail stores and leveraging its expertise to overhaul HMV's digital presence in order to make the modernized company more competitive in the contemporary market.
HMV opened its doors nearly 98 years ago with its first gramophone store in London, and expanded to Ireland, Canada, the United States, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong over the decades that followed.
Declining sales in the face of fierce competition turned the once leading retailer's fortunes around, however, with a 2013 stint in administration coinciding with all the closure of all of HMV Ireland's stores.
Turnaround specialist Hilco Capital took a controlling stake in HMV and sought to streamline the company by selling off additional international interests, but failed to improve the company's fundamentals significantly.
As a result, HMV once again entered administration on December 28, with some analysts predicting that the company would be liquidated absent interest from a deeply committed buyer.
"HMV has been a major player in the retail entertainment industry for nearly a century," said Buyvia representative Amy Jordan.
"While the company has undeniably struggled in recent years, we here at buyvia feel that plenty of progress can easily be achieved. We are now engaged in talks concerning how some of HMV's most significant retail presences could be saved from closing up shop forever. We also believe that Buyvia is perfectly positioned to turn HMV into a far more competitive and capable online retailer, as well."
Starting in 1966, HMV began expanding beyond London, while also competing fiercely with upstart rivals like Richard Branson's Virgin Megastore, which opened in 1976. A series of acquisitions in the 2000s expanded HMV's reach further, even as the entertainment retailing industry was becoming more challenging.
With HMV having filed for bankruptcy for the second time on December 28, we at Buyvia are well positioned to help the legendary retailer realign, recover, and become more competitive.
