Music Zone was a

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

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

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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, formed in

Levenshulme Levenshulme () is an area of Manchester, England, bordering Fallowfield, Longsight, Gorton, Burnage, Heaton Chapel and Reddish; it is approximately halfway between Stockport and Manchester city centre on the A6. Levenshulme is predominantly re ...

in 1984, as a market stall in

Longsight Longsight is an inner city suburb of Manchester, England, located south of the city centre. It is bounded by Ardwick and West Gorton to the north; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park and Fallowfield to the west ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

History

Soon after, Music Zone opened its first permanent shop in

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

, 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 individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...

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 Developme ...

(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 MVC may refer to: Science and technology * Maximum-value composite procedure, an imaging procedure * Multivariable calculus, a concept in mathematics * Multivariable control, a concept in process engineering * Mechanical vapor compression, a desal ...

, 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 Tottenha ...

Financial problems

On 27 December 2006, the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) 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 Iris ...

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 ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

, 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 Fopp may refer to: * "Fopp" (song), a 1975 song by the Ohio Players from ''Honey'' * ''Fopp'' (EP), a 1988 EP by Soundgarden, featuring the song of the same name * '' Screaming Life/Fopp'', a 1990 compilation album by the American rock band Sound ...

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