I have a pleasant, comfortable and very well laid out Virgin Megastores just a few minutes away from where I work. The cost of CDs at Virgin may be greater than small, independent retailers but they are slightly better than HMV and very much better than the awful Our Price.
Fairly often, though, I find myself trudging out of the Virgin and down to the HMV which is conveniently only two stores down.
The HMV is nearly as nice as the Virgin store. It is just that the blues and purples of HMV tend to give their outlets a darker (and I feel, more cramped) atmosphere than the brighter tones of Virgin’s yellows and reds.
The HMV in question is an old store that was closed down for over a year and then rebuilt entirely - the only thing the same is the front of the building which could not be touched due to its architectural importance. The shop is on Princess Street in Edinburgh. The re-opening was not a disappointment. It rows and rows of shelves are pretty well laid out. The likes of computer games and posters are still available and have been put in the best place for the music shop; that is to say, they’re down the stairs and towards the back. The categories in which the music is broken up into also make sense, Rock’n’Pop, Easy Listening, Compilation, Heavy Metal, etc.
Yes, I did say Heavy Metal. HMV has a number of shelves filled up with Heavy Metal CDs! I know (and it is great!) that harder, better, music is on the climb again. This is partly thanks to movies such as the Matrix making use of the adrenaline inspiring tracks, the increasingly number of commercial Boy Bands that only 14 year old girls want to listen to and a sadly lacklustre Indie scene. It is also thanks to HMV’s wider selection of music.
In short: HMV will have more CDs than Virgin will. Can’t find it at Virgin? Go to HMV. I do. It works for me.
That’s not all. HMV also has a wide selection of DVDs and videos as well as accessories like blank CDs and cassette cleaners.
These days, shops like HMV are about more than just music though. Both Virgin and HMV play vital roles in the computer game markets. Now, Virgin has their own brand of computer games and they have certain high profile agreements with other game distributors. I don’t fault them for this; it is the sensible thing to do, it means they, Virgin, can sell a range of games more cheaply than their rivals can. It does, however, mean that their stock of games are likely to be bias in favour of these agreements.
I am sure HMV has arrangements with suppliers as well. These arrangements must be more subtle, more flexible than the ones Virgin maintains because HMV always has the wider, most balance, range of titles and formats.
I do have a gripe with HMV though. This is valid for each of the HMV stores I’ve been in to and not just the big on Princess Street. It may be company policy. The cash till areas tend to be cramped together by the exit. The attempt to organise this ruck of a queue back-fires as well. Annoying black ribbon-ropes (You know the thing I mean, similar to what you’ll have to queue along in cinemas or any other popular attraction) are placed only wide enough part to funnel people towards the tills - there is not enough space to be able to easily walk back out once you’ve made your purchase. The whole queue often has to wriggle and squirm to let people passed.
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I've been in London recently and I've been at HMV nearby Picadilly, I did enjoy the shop, very good offer, much better than any here in Portugal, the prices were not that good, for instance, I bought "Barton Fink" for 1,45 but I wanted to buy also "reservoir dogs" but it would cost me 20 pound... two days after that I bought "reservoir dogs" at Tesco for 3,45 Pounds....
Squidget 02.01.2001 16:04
Hey me again!! He he did not know you were a fellow Edinburghonian or whatever we are??
Great review! I have to say I love HMV and often by pass the Virgin Megastore and most definetly Our Price (who's price exactly?). I have always found that HMV were the cheapest? Maybe this is caused by my constant bypassing the competition? But I have even found them better for Net shopping. Have you tried MVC this is in Livingston though and I hope we get one in Edinburgh soon, they specialise mainly in CD Albums, Videos, DVD and Computer Games. They are reasonably priced and if you have an MVC Discount Card you can get up to 20% of each purchase. They are worth a try and have an extesive range and can normally get anything you are looking for!! C'ya :o)
EnglishPatient 31.12.2000 04:41
Price is a huge turn-off. Unless I can get what I'm after in one of their never-ending special offers, I don't buy from HMV. Yes, their range and depth of stock is the best, but I'm not paying through the nose for ANYTHING!
Advantages: A very good selection, excellent layout, spacious well appointed premesis, superb 'Urban' selection some fantastic bargains to be had in the sales. Disadvantages: Some non-sale items are eye wateringly expensive, staff not so good with ordering or finding stock,occasional staff levelling problems, very little in the choice of alternative music formats eg SACD , not so good for rock music.
peterkinxl5 14.03.2005 (14.03.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of HMV (Shop)
Advantages: wide ranges of different products appropriately categorised - easy to navigate, friendly staff, special offers Disadvantages: Newer products are a bit expensive in comparison to other high street stores, bad lighting
Christophene 06.06.2001 (07.06.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of HMV (Shop)
Dec 20th, 2000
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