Hilco Capital provides support to enable Free Record Shop to trade over Christmas period
HMV owner Hilco has concluded an agreement to assist the receivers of entertainment retailer Free Record Shop in the operation of the business in Belgium through the Christmas period.
Hilco Capital will also provide inventory and up to €4 million of working capital to ensure that the company’s 68 stores in Belgium will continue to trade through the busy Christmas period and that employment will be preserved during December.
Hilco will work with management and Free Record Shop’s supplier base to stabilise the business and restock the stores. The stores will run a major promotional campaign to drive sales of CDs and DVDs.
The firm said it will also consult widely with Free Record Shop employees, suppliers and management to try to formulate a restructuring plan for the business which will be presented to the receivers during December.
Paul McGowan, chief executive of Hilco Capital, said: “The immediate priority is to restock the business for the holiday season and we are working through this with the supplier base. We expect to start shipping products to the stores over this weekend. We hope to be able to develop a plan to resuscitate the business and help it to trade with our support, and we look forward to working with the Free Record Shop team to this end.”
