HMV's iconic flagship London store to return to 363 Oxford Street

HMV's iconic Oxford Street flagship store is mounting a surprise comeback. 

Instantly recognisable, the shop has vacated its most famous address four years ago (memorably being replaced, to the horror of music fans, by an American candy store) but news has broken that the retailer has just signed a new contract to re-open at 363 Oxford Street later this year. 

As part of the plans, the store will be re-fitted with a brand-new HMV logo and a new 'HMV shop' concept, which will then be pushed out to 24 HMV stores up and down the country. The retailer currently has 120 active shops across the country. 

The iconic brand was acquired by Sunrise Records owner Doug Putman in 2019, the same year that the Oxford Street flagship was closed, but since then the brand has experienced something of a renaissance, leaning in to the vinyl boom and once again becoming an essential visit for physical music fans. 

The new HMV shop logo to be fitted on its iconic Oxford Street flagship store

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Pop stars such as Charli XCX and Ellie Goulding have made the most of this, hosting fan meet-and-greet signings at HMV shops up and down on the country on the release week to push the ever-important physical sales of their new records.

Fans can expect the grand re-opening of HMV's flagship Oxford Street store to take place sometime later this year.

In a statement, Sunrise Records owner Doug Putman said: "The expansion of our fan-focused pop culture offer is really working for us and the reopening of our flagship represents the culmination of a good few years of hard work.

"We are also opening stores in Europe this year, so while it is the culmination of one phase of work, more excitingly we see it as the launchpad for an exciting new era for HMV."

Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Westminster City Council’s cabinet member for planning & economic development, said: "It’s fantastic to see this iconic brand back on Oxford Street, where it stood as a driver of music and pop culture in the capital for so long. It’s also particularly pleasing it is replacing one of the many US candy stores which sprang up during the pandemic.

"The return of this famous name is proof that there’s a buzz back in the West End. Established retailers want a presence on the UK’s premier shopping street and as a council we want to see the nation’s high street reinvigorated and home to brands like HMV.

“There’s nothing quite like browsing through CDs and vinyl in-store. As a teenager who bought his first LP in an HMV shop some decades ago, I look forward to reliving that experience!"

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