Head Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Head Entertainment was an entertainment
retail chain in the United Kingdom
. The company was formed on 18 February 2009 when Simon Douglas, former managing director of Zavvi and business partner Les Whitfield, purchased five stores from Zavvi Entertainment Group which was placed in administration
on 24 December 2008. All Stores closed in early 2010 after less than a year of trading, apart from the Belfast
based store.
started his first Virgin
store on London
's Oxford Street
in 1971. In 1979 the company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road
. Between the 1980s and 1990s, the chain grew, most notably through its merger with Our Price
whilst under the ownership of WH Smith. By the 1990s Virgin Megastores had become an international franchise as part of the Virgin Group
. During the early to mid 2000s Virgin Group decided to sell off most of its Virgin Megastores to various companies, including the French stores to the Lagardere Group
and the American stores to Related Companies.
, of the Woolworths Group
, was the main supplier of Zavvi under an exclusive supply deal. As a result of EUK entering into administration, on 24 December 2008, the entertainment retailer was also forced into administration as it was unable to source stock on favourable terms direct from suppliers. As a result of its administration Zavvi closed the majority of its 130 stores, with some sold to rival HMV
, and some others to a new company, Head Entertainment.
which he sold in July 2007.
On 18 February, the day in which the final set of store closures was announced, Zavvi's administrators Ernst & Young
sold 14 of the stores to HMV, and five to Head Entertainment. An additional two stores were purchased on 20 February 2009. A third additional store, the former Zavvi store at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway in Bristol was also going to be purchased, but the company was unable to reach an agreement with the landlord. The store was subsequently taken over by HMV who relocated from their former premises at Cribbs Causeway and employed some of the former Zavvi staff. All of the remaining stock which Zavvi owned was sold to Head Entertainment. It is thought that the partners in Head paid less than 20p a unit for the Zavvi stock.
, Books, CDs
, Computer
software and hardware
, DVDs and Video Games; a similar product mix to the stores it replaced (Zavvi, and previously Virgin Megastores). Much of the stock retailed in Head Entertainment stores was ex-Zavvi stock.
Broadmead
, Dundee
, Leeds
, Merry Hill
, Bluewater, Manchester Arndale Centre
, Cardiff and Liverpool One. They were all former Zavvi outlets.
In December 2009 the company started a closing down sale in all stores. By 10 January 2010, the only remaining Head Stores were Bristol and Dundee (leases extended through 2011) with Merryhill's lease until Easter 2010. The Head store in Leeds closed on 10 January 2010. The remaining stores stocked a limited music chart, while new DVD releases come in the form of unused rental copies. Game stock is nominal and no clothing is sold within these stores.
The Bristol store closed on 27 March 2010, but reopened a week later under Head Records - see below.
store in Leamington Spa
. Head Records is owned by Indulge Retail Limited, which was previously run by one of the partners of Head Entertainment, Les Whitfield. The firm's logo incorporates a side view of a head.
Head Records subsequently opened three further stores. The Bristol ex-Zavvi store taken up by Head Entertainment closed on 27 March 2010, but was reopened a week later by Head Records under the name "Head CD DVD Books". The store contains some new stock alongside ex-Zavvi stock; the product range includes clothing and a selection of books alongside CDs and DVDs.
The former Zavvi store in Bromley was taken up by Head Records (as "Head CD & DVD"), some months after Head Entertainment had taken on its tranche of ex-Zavvi store sites. The Bromley store subsequently moved from the Zavvi site into another store location (with the former Zavvi site being taken up by New Look), and as with the Bristol store, the Bromley site carries a selection of new-release and catalogue products.
In December 2010, a new Head Records store opened in Belfast
's Victoria Square, becoming the fourth store in the chain.
It was reported in the Weston Mercury of 10th May 2011 that Head was to open a new store in Weston-super-Mare
; this occupied the unit in the Sovereign Shopping Centre which had been used by HMV
as a temporary store over Christmas 2010. Head opened on Saturday the 14th May 2011. Nick Cooke, centre manager of the Sovereign Shopping Centre, said “We are delighted that Head have chosen to open in Weston, which for too long has missed a dedicated music retailer."
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
retail chain in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The company was formed on 18 February 2009 when Simon Douglas, former managing director of Zavvi and business partner Les Whitfield, purchased five stores from Zavvi Entertainment Group which was placed in administration
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
on 24 December 2008. All Stores closed in early 2010 after less than a year of trading, apart from the Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
based store.
Virgin Megastores
Richard BransonRichard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
started his first Virgin
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
store on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
in 1971. In 1979 the company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road is a major road in central London, United Kingdom, running from St Giles Circus north to Euston Road, near the border of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile...
. Between the 1980s and 1990s, the chain grew, most notably through its merger with Our Price
Our Price
Our Price was a chain of record stores in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland from 1972 until 2004. Originally founded in 1972 by Gary Nesbitt, Edward Stollins and Mike Isaacs, early stores were branded "The Tape Revolution" and concentrated on the then-new compact cassette format.The name...
whilst under the ownership of WH Smith. By the 1990s Virgin Megastores had become an international franchise as part of the Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
. During the early to mid 2000s Virgin Group decided to sell off most of its Virgin Megastores to various companies, including the French stores to the Lagardere Group
Lagardère Group
Lagardère is a French-based multinational conglomerate headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The group once covered a broad range of industries but is now largely focused on the media sector, in which it is one of the world’s leading companies...
and the American stores to Related Companies.
Zavvi
In September 2007 it was announced that the UK arm of the Virgin Megastores brand was to break away from the Virgin Group, in a management buy-out offer led by managing director Simon Douglas and finance director Steve Peckham. EUKEntertainment UK
Entertainment UK Limited was a retail supply and distribution company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Woolworths Group plc. The company, along with Woolworths plc, entered administration with Deloitte & Touche on 28 November 2008...
, of the Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
, was the main supplier of Zavvi under an exclusive supply deal. As a result of EUK entering into administration, on 24 December 2008, the entertainment retailer was also forced into administration as it was unable to source stock on favourable terms direct from suppliers. As a result of its administration Zavvi closed the majority of its 130 stores, with some sold to rival HMV
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
, and some others to a new company, Head Entertainment.
Head Entertainment
Head Entertainment was formed on 2 February 2009 by Simon Douglas, former managing director of Zavvi, Mark Noonan, former Director of Trading of Zavvi and their business partner Les Whitfield. Les Whitfield also founded the entertainment retailer ImpulseImpulse (retailer)
Impulse Music Travel is an entertainment retail chain in the United Kingdom, with 24 concessions in various UK airports and railway stations. The company was formed in March 1994. In July 2007, Managing Director Les Whitfield sold the company.- History :...
which he sold in July 2007.
On 18 February, the day in which the final set of store closures was announced, Zavvi's administrators Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
sold 14 of the stores to HMV, and five to Head Entertainment. An additional two stores were purchased on 20 February 2009. A third additional store, the former Zavvi store at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway in Bristol was also going to be purchased, but the company was unable to reach an agreement with the landlord. The store was subsequently taken over by HMV who relocated from their former premises at Cribbs Causeway and employed some of the former Zavvi staff. All of the remaining stock which Zavvi owned was sold to Head Entertainment. It is thought that the partners in Head paid less than 20p a unit for the Zavvi stock.
Product range
Head Entertainment sold a range of products from AudioMusic
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Books, CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, Computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
software and hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
, DVDs and Video Games; a similar product mix to the stores it replaced (Zavvi, and previously Virgin Megastores). Much of the stock retailed in Head Entertainment stores was ex-Zavvi stock.
Operations and decline
Head Entertainment operated stores in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
Broadmead
Broadmead
Broadmead is a street in the central area of Bristol, England, which has given its name to the principal shopping district of the city.- History :The name of the street was first recorded in 1383 as Brodemede...
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Merry Hill
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Westfield Merry Hill is a shopping centre in Brierley Hill near Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several expansion and renovation projects taking place since. The original developers and owners were Richardson Developments but the Centre has had a number...
, Bluewater, Manchester Arndale Centre
Manchester Arndale
Manchester Arndale is a large shopping centre in Manchester, England. The centre was built in the 1970s when many other cities were constructing large malls. Manchester Arndale is the largest of a chain of Arndale Centres built across the UK in the 1960s and 1970s...
, Cardiff and Liverpool One. They were all former Zavvi outlets.
In December 2009 the company started a closing down sale in all stores. By 10 January 2010, the only remaining Head Stores were Bristol and Dundee (leases extended through 2011) with Merryhill's lease until Easter 2010. The Head store in Leeds closed on 10 January 2010. The remaining stores stocked a limited music chart, while new DVD releases come in the form of unused rental copies. Game stock is nominal and no clothing is sold within these stores.
The Bristol store closed on 27 March 2010, but reopened a week later under Head Records - see below.
Head Records
In 2007, prior to the formation of Head Entertainment, Head Records had opened following the closure of the FoppFopp (retailer)
Fopp is a chain of retail stores selling music, film, books and other entertainment products in the United Kingdom.-History:From its origins as a one-man stall in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1981, it expanded to a chain of over 100 branches throughout the country in 2007...
store in Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
. Head Records is owned by Indulge Retail Limited, which was previously run by one of the partners of Head Entertainment, Les Whitfield. The firm's logo incorporates a side view of a head.
Head Records subsequently opened three further stores. The Bristol ex-Zavvi store taken up by Head Entertainment closed on 27 March 2010, but was reopened a week later by Head Records under the name "Head CD DVD Books". The store contains some new stock alongside ex-Zavvi stock; the product range includes clothing and a selection of books alongside CDs and DVDs.
The former Zavvi store in Bromley was taken up by Head Records (as "Head CD & DVD"), some months after Head Entertainment had taken on its tranche of ex-Zavvi store sites. The Bromley store subsequently moved from the Zavvi site into another store location (with the former Zavvi site being taken up by New Look), and as with the Bristol store, the Bromley site carries a selection of new-release and catalogue products.
In December 2010, a new Head Records store opened in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
's Victoria Square, becoming the fourth store in the chain.
It was reported in the Weston Mercury of 10th May 2011 that Head was to open a new store in Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
; this occupied the unit in the Sovereign Shopping Centre which had been used by HMV
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
as a temporary store over Christmas 2010. Head opened on Saturday the 14th May 2011. Nick Cooke, centre manager of the Sovereign Shopping Centre, said “We are delighted that Head have chosen to open in Weston, which for too long has missed a dedicated music retailer."