Record store
This is Fopps record store on Cambridge Circus, London.
The company began as a one-man stall in Glasgow, Scotland in 1981. The name "Fopp" comes from the title of a song by the Ohio Players on their 1975 album Honey.
The first Fopp store was a market stall in Decourcey's Arcade near Byres Road in Glasgow opened 1981 by Gordon Montgomery. Fopp operated a "keep-it-simple" approach to the pricing of its merchandise, with most prices rounded to whole-pound figures. It built a reputation for reasonable prices on new releases, and competitive prices (often £5) on non-mainstream catalogue CDs, DVDs and books. The company also had a policy called "suck it and see", whereby any purchase could be returned to the shop within 28 days for a full refund as long as it was as new.
By 2007, Fopp had expanded to become a chain of over 100 branches in the UK. With the demise of rival chain Music Zone, Fopp became the third largest specialist music retailer in the UK in terms of store numbers (after HMV and Virgin Megastores).
Having taken over rival chain Music Zone following its fall into administration, Fopp found itself with cash flow problems. The company cancelled book deliveries in June blaming a change in location of warehouse from Bristol to Stockport (the old Music Zone warehouse).
On 29 June 2007 Fopp called in receivers after a last-ditch deal that would have allowed Sir Richard Branson a way to devolve himself from the loss making Virgin Megastores without the negative PR of closing down multiple locations, but this deal failed to win support from Virgin's main supplier.
On 31 July 2007, it was announced that HMV would take control of the Fopp brand and its stores in Cambridge, Edinburgh Rose Street (but not Cockburn Street), Glasgow, London Covent Garden, Manchester and Nottingham. On 12 February 2008, Bristol Evening Post reported that a further store would open in Bristol (in a former HMV-owned Waterstone's store), a city in which three Fopp stores had traded prior to summer 2007.
It was also announced that the Leamington Spa store would be reopening as Head, a separate store from Fopp, but retaining Fopp's stock and assets.[5] The Head store opened on 1 November 2007 and employed some of its predecessor's former employees. The store intends to host regular performances from local bands, and hopes to allow musicians, artists and authors from Leamington and its surrounding areas to sell their work there. This was initially a single store, but has more recently expanded into a chain of four sites.
At their peak under HMV ownership, nine stores were trading as Fopp.
On 15 January 2013 Fopp, along with its parent company HMV went into administration.
HMV was bought out of administration by Hilco UK on 5 April 2013 saving Fopp's nine remaining stores.
Record store
This is Fopps record store on Cambridge Circus, London.
The company began as a one-man stall in Glasgow, Scotland in 1981. The name "Fopp" comes from the title of a song by the Ohio Players on their 1975 album Honey.
The first Fopp store was a market stall in Decourcey's Arcade near Byres Road in Glasgow opened 1981 by Gordon Montgomery. Fopp operated a "keep-it-simple" approach to the pricing of its merchandise, with most prices rounded to whole-pound figures. It built a reputation for reasonable prices on new releases, and competitive prices (often £5) on non-mainstream catalogue CDs, DVDs and books. The company also had a policy called "suck it and see", whereby any purchase could be returned to the shop within 28 days for a full refund as long as it was as new.
By 2007, Fopp had expanded to become a chain of over 100 branches in the UK. With the demise of rival chain Music Zone, Fopp became the third largest specialist music retailer in the UK in terms of store numbers (after HMV and Virgin Megastores).
Having taken over rival chain Music Zone following its fall into administration, Fopp found itself with cash flow problems. The company cancelled book deliveries in June blaming a change in location of warehouse from Bristol to Stockport (the old Music Zone warehouse).
On 29 June 2007 Fopp called in receivers after a last-ditch deal that would have allowed Sir Richard Branson a way to devolve himself from the loss making Virgin Megastores without the negative PR of closing down multiple locations, but this deal failed to win support from Virgin's main supplier.
On 31 July 2007, it was announced that HMV would take control of the Fopp brand and its stores in Cambridge, Edinburgh Rose Street (but not Cockburn Street), Glasgow, London Covent Garden, Manchester and Nottingham. On 12 February 2008, Bristol Evening Post reported that a further store would open in Bristol (in a former HMV-owned Waterstone's store), a city in which three Fopp stores had traded prior to summer 2007.
It was also announced that the Leamington Spa store would be reopening as Head, a separate store from Fopp, but retaining Fopp's stock and assets.[5] The Head store opened on 1 November 2007 and employed some of its predecessor's former employees. The store intends to host regular performances from local bands, and hopes to allow musicians, artists and authors from Leamington and its surrounding areas to sell their work there. This was initially a single store, but has more recently expanded into a chain of four sites.
At their peak under HMV ownership, nine stores were trading as Fopp.
On 15 January 2013 Fopp, along with its parent company HMV went into administration.
HMV was bought out of administration by Hilco UK on 5 April 2013 saving Fopp's nine remaining stores.