Fopp Flops
I thought i would try a go at writing a headline for this blog … stick to my day job i think. But i was horrified to learn this morning that Fopp had closed all of its 105 shops. Fopp has blamed this on the slump in CD sales which is due to online downloads and internet shopping. They can also blame supermarkets who are able to sell albums and CD’s very cheaply.
Similar factors led to HMV announcing on Thursday that its annual profits had more than halved.
Fopp was founded in 1981 when Gordon Montgomery, a former sales assistant with HMV and Virgin, opened his first one-man stall - A1 Records - in Glasgow’s De’Courcey’s Arcade. The first A1 record shop opened in Glasgow in 1985, followed in 1987 by a branch in Cockburn Street, Edinburgh.
After a few years consolidating the business, Fopp embarked on a period of expansion from 2000 onwards, with its £1.6 million flagship store opening in Glasgow’s Union Street in August 2000. The company continued to grow its chain to a total of nine stores in 2001, with openings in Bristol, Dundee and Nottingham.
There is also speculation that Fopp’s purchase of 67 stores from the administrator of music retailer Music Zone had put pressure on the firm’s cash flow.
Although the Fopp website is still up, it does say they are not taking web orders. What a shame, but a sign of the times, i am crazy about music, and used to spend around £30 per week on CD’s but for the past 4 months i have been downloading instead and if i do buy a CD i usually buy it from CD Wow and not a shop.