Tsutaya Buys Virgin Stores

[Mulboyne]

Culture Convenience Club, operators of the Tsutaya chain, has bought Virgin Megastores Japan for 1.2 billion yen. CCC is currently negotiating with Virgin Group over continued use of the Virgin name. Virgin Megastores Japan was originally a 50-50 joint venture between Marui and Virgin Group which was made into a full Marui subsidiary two years ago. The stores were losing money. In 2002, Tower Records sold their Tower Records Japan business to a management buy-out financed by Nikko Principal Partners.

[Mulboyne]

[Mulboyne]

[Mulboyne]

Reuters: CCC bids for HMV Japan unit

Rental video shop operator Culture Convenience Club Co. (CCC) is one of six bidders in the running for the Japan business of British music and books retailer HMV Group Plc, Jiji news reported on Friday. Bids have ranged from above 20 billion yen to more than 40 billion yen ($165 to $330 million), Jiji said. A spokesman for CCC denied the report, while no one at HMV was available to comment.

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo via Japan Today: Daiwa Securities to acquire HMV Japan

Daiwa Securities SMBC Co and HMV Group plc of Britain said Tuesday they have agreed that Daiwa will acquire HMV's Japan business through its subsidiary for about 17 billion yen or approximately 70 million pounds. DSM Investments catorce Co, a special purpose company of Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments Co, will acquire all outstanding shares of HMV Japan and HMV Retail Ltd held by HMV Group, which sells CDs, DVDs and books, and by its subsidiary HMV Music Ltd in late August, they said. HMV has withdrawn from countries such as the United States and Australia where it failed to obtain the top share of the market. The British company has placed third in Japan in terms of market share following TSUTAYA Co and Tower Records Japan Inc.

This mirrors the Tower Records deal where a unit of Nikko Securities bought the Japan operations and them later sold part of its stake to Docomo. An ex-employee of the shop inside the Takashimaya in Shinjuku told me that the head of their rock section has just quit. He was apparently responsible for a lot of the in-store promotions by foreign bands and his departure is expected to hit HMV hard. Then again, that might just be what the ex-empoyee hopes will happen.

[Mulboyne]

NYT: Last Virgin Megastore in Manhattan to Close

The latest record store to announce its closing in New York is a big one: the Virgin Megastore in Union Square. Virgin Entertainment Group North America, which announced last month that the Times Square Megastore would close in April, will also shut the Union Square shop in late May or early June, a spokeswoman said, confirming a report in Billboard. Virgin will also close its Market Street store in San Francisco in April. Thousands of music retailers have closed in recent years as CD sales have plunged, and Virgin has been shuttering most of its locations around the country since it was bought by the real estate companies Vornado and Related in 2007, even though its high-traffic New York stores were said to be profitable.

[Mulboyne]

Although Daiwa SMBC Principal won the auction for HMV Japan, it appears that Culture Convenience Club (who run Tsutaya) will now be involved in managing the stores and will probably move towards a full acquisition by June. It seems that the HMV brand will be retained.

[Mulboyne]

HMV have been closing stores around Japan and now have announced that their flagship store in Shibuya will close in August. Last time I looked in there, the CD inventory had been reduced dramatically and the focus was on DVDs & clothing. There's no way that turnover was ever going to be big enough for such a prime location.

[Mulboyne]

Although Daiwa SMBC Principal won the auction for HMV Japan, it appears that Culture Convenience Club (who run Tsutaya) will now be involved in managing the stores and will probably move towards a full acquisition by June. It seems that the HMV brand will be retained.

The Culture Convenience Club deal fell through and it now seems like the buyer will be Lawson.

Source (Japanese)

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

The Culture Convenience Club deal fell through and it now seems like the buyer will be Lawson.

Source (Japanese)

Well, if Culture Convenience Club killed the deal because of its infidelity, does that mean it now gets 72 Virgin Megastores?

[Greji]

The Culture Convenience Club deal fell through and it now seems like the buyer will be Lawson.

Source (Japanese)

Ahh, I'm not to up to date here Mulby. I thought Boy George ran the Culture Club.....

[Mulboyne]

Ahh, I'm not to up to date here Mulby. I thought Boy George ran the Culture Club.....

He was into rentals but picked up some hefty late fees.

[Greji]

He was into rentals but picked up some hefty late fees.

He was always such a lovely little tyke, a what?
[YT]/v/Izw8KKo6VhY?fs=1[/YT]

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Despite the Georgie Boy stuff, I'm still looking for a decent store of virgins...

[FG Lurker]

Despite the Georgie Boy stuff, I'm still looking for a decent store of virgins...

If you're not picky about gender then any manga-kisa or maid cafe should have a ready supply.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

If you're not picky about gender then any manga-kisa or maid cafe should have a ready supply.

Unfortunately, that gender is off my agenda...Actually, to be really honest, I'm not that keen on virgins. I remember how clumsy I was my first time and it was a fucking disaster...er, literally.