HMV to renovate London shops

Entertainment giant HMV will refurbish its 150 Oxford Street and Trocadero stores this year.

The firm will use some of the 13.7m it has generated from the sale of its 360 Oxford Street to pay for the refit and upgrades.

360 Oxford Street was opened in 2000, but HMV – which already has two other shops on Oxford Street – announced it was selling it to US clothing chain Forever 21 last year.

The buyout was expected to be completed by this spring, but now the outlet’s final day of trading will be tomorrow (Saturday, March 5th).

The company says it will continue to have a strong presence in Central London, with a ‘major refurbishment’ planned for its 150 Oxford Street store, including an upgrade to its video gaming department.

The retailer also says it will update its Trocadero store at Piccadilly Circus, which includes a HMV Gamerbase.

360 Oxford Street is not part of the 40 store closures announced by the entertainment chain in January.

HMV issued a second profit warning earlier this week, admitting its pre-tax profits would fall slightly short of the 45m market expectations.