Posted June 25, 200718 yr Fopp denies it is going into administration 25 June 2007 - 11:46:45 Source: Music Week Music retailer Fopp has admitted it is in “ongoing and lengthy negotiations” with its bankers, Bank Of Scotland, but strongly refuted rumours that it would be going into administration.” The company reopened its stores over the weekend, following a surprise nationwide closure on Friday that the company said was for a stock take. However, certain suppliers have reportedly stopped shipping product to Fopp and two weeks ago the retailer itself instructed publishers to stop supplying books to its stores. On Friday, concern began to mount as the chain’s stores failed to open as usual. The company’s PR agency played the significance down, stating, “An annual stock check is taking place in all Fopp stores today.” That was backed by Fopp staff across the country, who answered calls from customers with the same explanation; while some admitted they were in the dark about the reason for the action, others said they expected to open for business, as usual, the following day. In a bid to calm fears about the chain’s problems Fopp finally issued a formal statement late on Friday afternoon, saying: “We are genuinely amidst ongoing and lengthy negotiations with our bank, we are not in administration. Stock-taking complete, stores will be re-open tomorrow, Saturday June 23.” The spokesman said discussions with the bank had been continuing “for several days” and indicated those talks would continue into this week. Suppliers voiced concern on Friday that it had been difficult to draw information from the retailer and Music Week understands that staff were sent home from Fopp’s headquarters, meaning calls to the company were unanswered on Friday afternoon. Renowned as one of the High Street’s rising stars, Fopp’s budget price, no-frills approach to music retailing has helped established it as one of the record-buying public’s favourite stores. And similar moves into DVD and book sales have cemented that position. It operates around 50 outlets in the UK, the latest of which opened only three weeks ago in Cumbernauld, a few miles from where the company began life in Glasgow as a market stall run by Gordon Montgomery 26 years ago. Since the appointment of former HMV managing director Pryde in May 2005, Fopp has continued an aggressive expansion, acquiring assets of rival indie Music Zone, which included 67 stores and two warehouses
June 25, 200718 yr Fopp denies it is going into administration 25 June 2007 - 11:46:45 Source: Music Week Music retailer Fopp has admitted it is in “ongoing and lengthy negotiations” with its bankers, Bank Of Scotland, but strongly refuted rumours that it would be going into administration.” Wouldnt be surprised if it did, well if HMV Group are in the $h!t and they are the big boys what hope can a (heavily expanded) indie??? It will be sad if it goes as there will be no good cheap record stores like these where you might find something kore intersting for a couple of quid. only hmv and tesco flogging off the same SonyBMG hits albums over and over again.
June 29, 200718 yr Author Fopp closes 29 June 2007 - 12:54:45 Fopp has closed its doors, blaming a lack of support from stakeholders, suppliers and credit insurers. The retailer’s PR company issued a statement saying: “It is with great regret that we announce the closure of Fopp. Our store chain is profitable, well regarded and loved by our loyal customers and staff. “However we have failed to gain the necessary support from major stakeholders, suppliers and their credit insurers to generate sufficient working capital to run our expanding business. We would like to thank staff and customers for their support over the past 25 years.” A spokeswoman for Ernst & Young confirmed that the company is in discussions with Fopp management over future options for the business.
June 29, 200718 yr NO!!! Fopp is THE best music shop out there. The budget DVDs, CDs and books are excellent value - I seriously hope they manage to overcome these problems and stay open. How sad.
June 30, 200718 yr I couldn't wait to get to London to shop at Fopp ! :( :( :( :( Such a sad day ! :( LifeLight
June 30, 200718 yr Shame to see them go under but it is not like can't get cheap CD's now, online retailers and so on can offer excellent prices and so can supermarkets
June 30, 200718 yr But supermarkets only stock chart c**p - Fopp was a specialist's dream.... And buying music online is just hideous.... a soulless, casual and horrible way to purchase, I find. Give me the touchy-feely heaven of record shops anyday.
June 30, 200718 yr Oh don't get me wrong Russ its a shame to see them go but obviously despite the cheapness of the CD's the company wasn't making any money so the consumer wasn't interested in the cheap CD's on sale enough and the main reason I would say is the likes of CD Wow and Play.com
June 30, 200718 yr Well I never got to see inside a Flop I mean Fopp :( seems they got a bit carried away after Music Zone closed down
July 1, 200718 yr i never even been in a Fopp shop theres none in any of the towns near me ;) were they any good?
July 3, 200718 yr Author Fopp staff to learn fate tomorrow 02 July 2007 - 11:56:55 Staff at beleaguered music retailer Fopp are expected to learn their fate tomorrow as the prospects for the sale of the business are considered. All of Fopps' 81 stores were shut on Friday after the company admitted it could not pay its staff. Administrators Ernst & Young have been called in and will tell staff about their future after assessing the state of the business. An Ernst & Young spokeswoman says that the company will make an announcement at 9am tomorrow. A number of employees telephoned Music Week last week registering their frustration at the way events have been handled. It has been reported that two offers of lifelines for the ailing business, including an attempted rescue-package by Virgin, last week fell through. It is understood that HBOS, Fopp’s bank, offered to install a chief restructuring officer to implement a turnaround strategy but the offer was turned down by Fopp’s management. The chain was also reportedly offered an extension to its overdraft if it accepted HBOS’s proposal. There has been speculation that Fopp’s purchase of 67 Music Zone stores, which trebled the number of branches, put pressure on the company’s cash flow.
July 3, 200718 yr Author 700 employees lose jobs as Fopp goes into adminstration 03 July 2007 - 10:57:36 Source; Music Week Around 700 Fopp employees have lost their jobs, as Ernst & Young confirms that the retailer has gone into administration. In a short statement, Ernst & Young, the joint receiver and administrator for Fopp and MZ2007 – the company under which Fopp operated the former Music Zone stores – announces the loss of approximately 700 jobs. Tom Burton, one of the joint administrators, adds, “It is unfortunate that we have had to make these redundancies but we are not in a position to re-open the stores until we have the agreement of suppliers who control the licenses to sell stock. “We would urge anyone with a genuine interest in taking on stores as going concerns to contact us immediately. In the meantime, we wanted to ensure that employees have the opportunity to claim their statutory entitlements through the Redundancy Fund as soon as possible. A dedicated team from Ernst & Young will be on hand to assist with this process. We are retaining store managers whilst we assess the prospects for re-opening.” Fopp closed it doors last Thursday, sending an email to employees informing them that the company was unable to pay wages for June and all staff were on leave until further notice.
July 3, 200718 yr Maybe that's the problem ^^ 3 in Bristol, whilst others are saying: i never even been in a Fopp shop theres none in any of the towns near me ;) were they any good? They needed to hit a wider market to be successful, no?
July 4, 200718 yr We have 3 here in Bristol - now all closed. Shame, it is a great music shop I think Fopp's head office is in Bristol too..... what a shame that they've shut, especially the superb one on Park Street :(
July 4, 200718 yr I think Fopp's head office is in Bristol too..... what a shame that they've shut, especially the superb one on Park Street :( Yes, that Park Street one has been there for a few years too - it had an excellent range of merchandise. The other two are on Horsefair and Whiteladies Rd, obviously they were going for a wide customer base.
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