MUSIC LOVERS DISAPPOINTED with the closure of megastore HMV in February will welcome the news that four outlets are to reopen in just two weeks time.
TheJournal.ie has learned that the shop on Henry Street in Dublin’s city centre, as well as those in Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, Dundrum Town Centre and Limerick’s Crescent Shopping Centre will reopen on either the 5 or 6 September.
About 120 new staff members have already been recruited, with management teams beginning work last month and other employees coming on board today, tomorrow and early next week.
“It is a massive undertaking to get shelves stocked and everything ready for the opening but we’re hoping it will be the 5th or 6th,” Excel Recruitment’s managing director Barry Whelan told TheJournal.ie.
CDs, DVDs and other stock has already been ordered for the stores, so that staff can begin stocking shelves and start building-up towards the re-opening once they begin work.
The recruitment process saw a large number of former HMV staff re-employed but Whelan says a “bunch of new people who are music aficionados and really into the industry” were also successful with their applications.
Other businesses in Dublin’s city centre have welcomed the return of the outlet. Clyde Carroll of the Dublin City Business Improvement District says there is ”huge anticipation for the re-opening”.
“It’s great for the city centre and in particular for Henry Street. HMV has always been a huge draw for the area so there’s been a gap there”.
Currently, there are no plans to reopen a HMV store on Grafton Street. The landmark store at the prime location close to St Stephen’s Green has already been re-leased.
It is understood that new owners Hilco wish to re-establish HMV in Ireland with a footprint comparable to its 2012 level of 16 stores. The restructuring specialists acquired the troubled firm from its administrators in a deal worth about €59 million.
The recruitment process for the four stores is complete and there are no longer any vacancies.
-Additional reporting by Daragh Brophy
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