Music Zone was a

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, formed in

Levenshulme Levenshulme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, bordering Fallowfield, Longsight, Gorton, Burnage, Heaton Chapel and Reddish, halfway between Stockport and Manchester city centre on the A6 road (England), A6. Levenshulm ...

in 1984, as a market stall in

Longsight Longsight is an inner city area of Manchester, England, south of the Manchester City Centre, city centre, bounded by Ardwick and Gorton, West Gorton to the north and east; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park, Man ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

History

Soon after, Music Zone opened its first permanent shop in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, and began to expand in the Manchester region, rebranding itself to Music Zone Trade Direct and positioning itself as a value retailer. In February 2005, Music Zone was sold in a

management buy-out A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or High-net-worth individual, individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts bec ...

for £12 million, backed financially by the private equity firm

Lloyds Development Capital Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Limited (LDC), is a mid-market private equity house and subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group, established in 1981 as Lloyds Development Capital Limited. From 1999 to 2011, it was known as Lloyds TSB Developmen ...

(LDC), as well as funds from the board of directors. In the twelve months to 31 May 2005, the company made a £4,000 pre tax loss on sales of £70.4 million. Then in January 2006, the company bought forty one outlets from collapsed chain MVC, allowing Music Zone to expand nationwide. All stores were branded to 'Music Zone'. The MVC acquisitions took the estate to 104 stores making the chain the third largest specialist entertainment retailer in the United Kingdom, less than thirty stores behind nearest rival

Virgin Megastore Virgin Megastores is an international entertainment retailing chain, founded in early 1976 by Richard Branson as a record shop on London's Oxford Street. In 1979 the company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Tottenh ...

Financial problems

On 27 December 2006, the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc () is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history. At ...

withdrew its loan and future working capital facilities, and decided to recover its debts without notice and with immediate effect. As a result, on 3 January 2007, Music Zone went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

, with thirty one stores across the United Kingdom closing two weeks later. The cause of the collapse was attributed to "challenging trading conditions and weak pre Christmas trading, amid increasing competition and aggressive pricing across the DVD and music market." By 26 January 2007, all stores were closed. Music Zone's Head Office was closed on 30 January. By the time of closure, the company debts totalled £31 million

Fopp

On 5 February 2007, retailer Fopp announced it would be taking over 67 of the remaining stores in addition to some of Music Zone's head office and warehouse facilities. In March 2007, Fopp had difficulties rebuilding supplier contracts, and shut down a great number of the higher maintenance stores. On 29 June 2007, Fopp went into administration, resulting in the closure of all remaining Music Zone shops.Ernst & Young Press Statement
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009232114/http://www.ey.com/global/Content.nsf/UK/Media_-_07_07_03_DC_-_Fopp_Music_Zone_2007 , date=2007-10-09

References

Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1984 Retail companies disestablished in 2007 Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom 1984 establishments in the United Kingdom 2007 disestablishments in the United Kingdom