Latest news with #PhilHalliday
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Scourge of the Pokemon gangs: Thieves tear open packs and even chase delivery vans to get hands on cards that can be worth thousands
Criminal gangs have forced retailer HMV to withdraw Pokemon trading cards worth thousands from its shop floors and online. Phil Halliday, boss of the high street chain, told The Mail on Sunday that demand for the cards has become so intense that even its delivery vans are being targeted. Mr Halliday said: 'They're phenomenally sought after. [So there is] a rabid threat of theft.' The flagship store on London 's Oxford Street has seen thieves breaking in to search for rare cards that they can sell to collectors for large profits. Mr Halliday added: 'We got broken into here at the Oxford Street store – the theory was they went straight to the back of the shop to try and see where these Pokemon cards were. 'We had people chasing a DHL delivery van because they thought there were Pokemon cards in it.' HMV keeps the packs, pictured, behind the shop counter and limits sales to four per customer. 'We can't keep them anywhere near [the shop floor], they are all behind the counter,' Mr Halliday said. He added: 'They are also very easy to shove down your trousers when you're on the run.' HMV no longer sells them online because the site is attacked by bots, which are programmed to buy as many as possible as fast as possible. The company also removed information from its website about stock levels in stores. Pokemon cards, which depict cartoon monsters that are used by their 'trainers' to battle each other, exploded in popularity in the 1990s and continue to attract new generations of fans. The characters also inspired a long-running Japanese cartoon series and numerous video games and merchandise. Rare cards command huge prices on the resale market. One set, featuring a Charizard dragon character from 1999, is on sale for £25,000 on eBay. In 2022, American YouTuber Logan Paul set a record when he bought an ultra-rare Pikachu Illustrator Pokemon card for £3.9million. In May a man was arrested in Manchester after police found stolen Pokemon cards worth about £250,000 during a raid on his house. Last November a man in Polegate, East Sussex, admitted stealing a Pokemon card valued at £30,000. It was found for sale on Facebook but police returned it to its owner. And earlier this month, a heist occurred in the American state of Massachusetts, with the thief stealing £84,000 worth of rare cards. Pokemon cards are not the only childhood toys being targeted. Lego is attractive to thieves because rare 'collectable' sets command high prices and are difficult to trace.
Belfast Telegraph
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
HMV to reopen Belfast store with fresh new look
The Donegal Arcade unit now features a completely reimagined space which has been designed to enhance the way fans discover music, film, and TV. It's seeking to offer an unrivalled range of products including pop culture merchandise, music technology and literature when the doors open again this Friday. Phil Halliday, managing director at HMV and Fopp, said: 'The new store looks brilliant and is a testament to all the hard work the team have put into it over the past few weeks. "With over 45,000 different products on offer, as well as a dedicated space for books, live performances and signings, it has all the makings of a pop culture mecca in the Northern Irish capital. "We can't wait to welcome customers in on Friday to see all it has to offer!' The 10,375 square feet store will offer fans of popular culture even more items to browse and discover. The first floor boasts a collection of 10,000 different vinyl albums, 16,000 different CDs, as well as 12,500 films and TV shows on 4K Ultra HD, Blu Ray and DVD. There will also be new merchandise on offer, with 6,000 pop culture products and 600 different T-shirt designs available across franchises including Pokémon, Star Wars, Marvel and DC. Customers who venture to the second floor will discover the HMV Bookshop featuring a range of fiction and nonfiction titles to suit all interests, from classic and cult literature to popular manga, and famous biographies from well-loved bands and musicians. The floor is also set to serve as a dedicated events space for live performances and signings from well-established musicians and authors. To celebrate the reopening on June 13, the first 50 customers to make a purchase will receive an exclusive goodie bag packed with pop culture merchandise.
Irish Examiner
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Music store HMV to reopen in Limerick
Iconic music store HMV will reopen in Limerick next week, more than a decade since it ceased trading there. HMV left the Irish high street in 2016 after three years of financial troubles, and closed its Irish online operation in 2018. A year later, Canada-based Sunrise Records run by music impresario Doug Putman took over running HMV's remaining UK stores. In 2023, HMV made its return to Ireland, reopening on Henry Street in Dublin at a 6,000 sq ft premises. Now it opens its second Irish outlet, in Limerick on Friday May 16. 'HMV has a rich history in Ireland and we're delighted to announce we'll be returning to Limerick with a new store inside the Crescent Shopping Centre," said HMV UK and Ireland managing director Phil Halliday. "There'll be deals on music, TV, and film, as well as a new dedicated performance space for both established artists and local bands, with the aim of turning the store into the best music destination in town.' The new 5,478 sq. ft store will feature more than 18,000 different products, including 5,000 vinyl albums, 5,500 CDs, as well as t-shirt designs and thousands of pop culture, entertainment, and music technology products from franchises like Stranger Things, Pokémon, Star Wars, Marvel and DC. 'Nothing beats discovering new music and pop culture products in a store filled with expert, knowledgeable staff. We're beyond excited to be back in Limerick and we can't wait to fling open the doors and show customers round on opening day," said Limerick store manager Bronwen Dawson. HMV has around 120 stores operating in the UK, as well as a store in Brussels which opened last year.
The Guardian
06-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
HMV puts UK expansion on hold because of budget tax rises
HMV has put its UK expansion on hold and is to open stores in Ireland and Belgium instead, because of rising wage costs announced in last autumn's budget that begin next month. Phil Halliday, the managing director of the entertainment retailer, said it had hoped to open up to 10 more stores in the UK in the coming year but had put that plan on hold as it was 'peddling pretty hard' to maintain profits despite strong sales growth. Sales rose 6.5% to £11.6m in the year to 30 May 2024, as the group reopened its Oxford Street store in London and grew online sales amid a resurgence in traditional formats including vinyl and CDs, but pre-tax profit fell more than 6% to £4.9m amid rising costs led by higher wages, according to accounts filed at Companies House this week. Halliday said interest in exclusive releases from artists such as Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Charli xcx, as well as old and young shoppers seeking out more classic albums from artists such as Oasis, was currently driving a 15% increase in vinyl sales and a 5% rise in CDs 'Growth is great but we are just about covering cost increases,' Halliday said. 'It is quite frustrating at times.' He said the group planned to open a store in Limerick, Ireland, in June and a second store in Antwerp, Belgium, this autumn, adding to two existing stores in Belgium and one in Ireland. It will also open its online store to shoppers in Ireland and mainland Europe later this month. Halliday said HMV was hoping to be opening up to 10 stores a year in Europe from the end of next year but still hoped to expand in the UK if conditions improved. In October's budget, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced that the rate of national insurance contributions paid by employers would increase from 13.8% to 15% from this April, which will push up the cost of employing workers. Halliday said the government should have introduced changes to business rates, which will help those who operate stores with a rateable value of less than £500,000, this year rather than in 2026 to help offset higher costs from increases on employers' national insurance and the minimum wage. 'Hopefully the moves on business rates next year will change the picture a bit,' he said. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'We understand that there are challenges that need to be addressed but the burden of tax put on retailers feels unfair. Other sectors contribute less as a percentage of revenue.'
