Music and Video Club (MVC) was a British entertainment retailer, founded in 1989.
At its peak, the company operated 82 stores in the United Kingdom, and also sold products over the internet in its later years. The company closed in January 2006 after entering administration.[1]
History
Music and Video Club (MVC) was founded by former directors of Our Price, another entertainment retailer, who left after it was purchased by WHSmith.
MVC took over two video rental stores called 'Titles' in Hendon and Colchester, with its unique selling strategy being centred around offering 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, and was saved by HMV.[6] As of December 2024, Fopp has six stores.[7]
References
External links
- 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
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