From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Music and Video Club
or
MVC
was a British entertainment
retailer
which sold
DVDs
,
VHS
,
audio cassettes
,
video games
, and
CDs
of popular and specialist titles. At its peak, the company operated 82 stores in the United Kingdom, and also sold products over the
internet
. The company closed in January 2006, after entering into
administration
.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
MVC was founded by former
Our Price
directors, who left after
W H Smith
bought the company. It took over two Titles video rental stores in Hendon and Colchester initially and its unique selling strategy was to offer discounted prices for members, using a dual pricing system whereby members obtained a membership card for a small fee. However, its strategy of locating off the high street to save rental costs led to reduced footfall and as competitors began to reduce CD, video and multimedia prices, this price advantage was eroded over time. It belatedly attempted to locate newer outlets in prime locations but MVC had missed its opportunity. It was bought by
Kingfisher plc
in 1993,
[2]
which later spun it off as part of the
Woolworths
chain in July 2005.
[
citation needed
]
In August 2005, MVC was sold to venture capital company Argyle Partners for £5.5 million.
[1]
In December 2005, however, it entered
administration
with Kroll.
[
citation needed
]
In January 2006, 41 MVC stores were bought by competitor
Music Zone
.
[3]
On 25 January 2007, Music Zone also went into administration.
[4]
67 former Music Zone stores were taken over by music and book retailer
Fopp
, including some of the former MVC stores.
[5]
Fopp, however, also subsequently entered administration in June 2007, though that brand was saved after purchased by
HMV
, and as of 2018, still has seven stores trading.
[6]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
- Official website
, previously redirected to HMV site, and then to Amazon UK. Now directed to a Sedo holding page
- Official website
, archived version of website from Feb 06