Vinyl fans and Anglophiles were quick to make promises at the opening of the first HMV outside the UK: “What a bargain!” (Wijnegem)

Posted On: November 23, 2023

Wijnegem –

The opening of the first branch of legendary British record and CD shop HMV in mainland Europe today immediately attracted many music lovers to the Wijnegem shopping center. They waited impatiently for the roller shutter to open and then enjoyed the many newly delivered CDs, T-shirts and especially vinyl.

HMV stands for His Master’s Voice. The chain was founded in London in 1921 and has more than 120 stores in the UK and Ireland. HMV experienced financial difficulties for a while and had to close twenty-seven loss-making branches in 2019. But in the meantime, the more than century-old record shop has recovered its fortunes.

“We want to open lots of stores in Europe, and start in Wijnegem,” Phil Halliday, manager and director of HMV, previously told Gazet Van Antwerp. “That is an indirect consequence of Brexit. One of the reasons is Brexit, we have done a lot of imports and exports with Belgium in recent years, know a lot of people there, and therefore we have visited many cities in Belgium for our expansion plans. Wijnegem Shop Eat Enjoy has the extra advantage of having a lot of customers there and therefore we immediately attract a large audience. Next spring we will also open a shop in Brussels. And then we want to open stores in Antwerp Center, Ghent, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain.”

Lots of t-shirts and an enthusiastic operational team at HMV Wijnegem. — ©RR

T-shirts

The HMV store in Wijnegem measures 300 square meters. Ten people work there. The store has room for 2,500 different vinyl records and over 3,500 different CDs. HMV focuses on true fans here. You will also find a variety of T-shirts from bands and artists. In addition, 3,500 other pop culture products are also sold in Wijnegem, including Pokémon, Star Wars and Marvel, as well as comic books. A wide range of music technology, from headphones to record and CD players, completes the offering.

Diana and Arne, are clearly fans of Foo Fighters and Nirvana. — ©RR

Foo Fighter

Dina and her brother Arne Vercammen from Nijlen were immediately present on the first day of the opening. “I’m a huge Foo Fighters fan and will definitely be there when they perform again at Rock Werchter in 2024. Of course, their LP is not to be missed. My sister even let me choose an extra one as a gift.”

Ronny Peeters from Brasschaat also went straight into the record bin. — ©RR

Ronny Peeters from Brasschaat has known HMV since he was eighteen. “I have been regularly going to London to visit British record shops. I was very curious to see this shop in Wijnegem and it didn’t seem so bad. What a great deal! I also swear by vinyl and therefore I mainly browse vinyl record bins.”

Liverpool

Philippe Bogaerts from Westmalle came to Wijnegem especially for the opening of HMV. “The various types of band t-shirts are very interesting to me. I already have a large collection at home, and can now expand it even further thanks to HMV in the area. This is certainly a big asset for Wijnegem.”

Michael Farrell lives in Deurne today, but his roots are in Liverpool. “I grew up with HMV and didn’t want to miss the opening. An event I celebrated with the purchase of a Bryan Adams CD.”