Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

HMV BAG

Date

2017

Materials

PLASTIC

No. Pieces

1

Length

22.7

Width

35.7

Description

WHITE, PLASTIC SHOPPING BAG. BOTH SIDES ARE THE SAME. “HMV” IS ON THE BAG IN PINK LETTERING. THE BAG ALSO HAS INFORMATION ABOUT THE BAG INCLUDING “ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY” ALONG THE BOTTOM EDGE. THERE IS A HOLE IN THE TOP SIDE OF THE BAG FOR THE HANDLE. VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT CONDITION. THE BAG IS SLIGHTLY WRINKLED. THERE IS SLIGHT WEAR TO THE HANDLE THROUGH USE.

Subjects

MERCHANDISING T&E

Historical Association

RETAIL TRADE

BUSINESS

History

IN THE EARLY MONTHS OF 2017 THE MUSIC FRANCHISE, HMV CANADA, BEGAN TO THE PROCESS OF CLOSING DOWN ALL 120 OF THEIR STORES ACROSS CANADA. AFTER 30 YEARS OF BUSINESS, THE COMPANY WENT INTO RECEIVERSHIP. PARK PLACE MALL IN DOWNTOWN LETHBRIDGE HAD AN HMV LOCATION OF ITS OWN, WHICH OPENED IN 1994. THIS SHOPPING BAG IS AN EXAMPLE OF SHOPPING BAGS USED AT THE LETHBRIDGE LOCATION OF HMV DURING THE TIME OF RECEIVERSHIP. IT IS ALSO PHYSICAL SYMBOL OF BRICK-AND-MORTAR SHOPPING MALLS. ON 27 FEBRUARY 2017, IN AN INTERVIEW WITH COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN, THE MANAGER OF THE HMV LETHBRIDGE, BRENDAN FRIZZLEY, REFLECTED ON HIS PAST EXPERIENCE AT THE MUSIC STORE, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MUSIC STORES, AND ON THE RECEIVERSHIP PERIOD. FOR MORE INFORMATION OF FRIZZLEY’S CONNECTION TO THE STORE, PLEASE SEE P20170004001-2. IN THE INTERVIEW, FRIZZLEY SPOKE ABOUT THE CHANGE IN MALL TRAFFIC, “[THERE IS] SUCH A DROP IN TRAFFIC, AS PEOPLE START TO MOVE AWAY FROM MALLS. [THIS IS EXEMPLIFIED BY] THE FACT THAT I’LL HAVE SATURDAYS WHERE I’LL PULL AS MUCH AS I USED TO PULL ON A SLOW MONDAY EIGHT YEARS AGO, IN TERMS OF JUST PEOPLE COMING IN. WE’VE MADE SO MANY CHANGES TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT WORK FROM ON OUR SIDE, WHETHER IT’S GETTING BETTER DEALS FOR EVERY CD THAT WE SELL, OR JUST CHANGING THE GENERAL PRICE OF THINGS, OR HAVING THINGS THAT MAKE MORE MONEY… PEOPLE AREN’T SHOPPING IN MALLS ANYMORE. THERE’S STILL PEOPLE COMING IN, ESPECIALLY AROUND CHRISTMAS TIME, BUT IT’S NOT THE SAME AS IT USED TO BE. I REMEMBER MY FIRST CHRISTMAS [WORKING] HERE. WE HAD THREE TILLS – WE’D RUN ALL THREE OF THEM – AND THERE’D BE STILL CRAZY LINES. THAT WAS FOR ALL OF DECEMBER, AND THEN THIS YEAR, BLACK FRIDAY AND BOXING DAY BOTH HAPPENED, AND I DIDN’T HAVE TO OPEN A THIRD TILL…PEOPLE DON’T WANT SHOPPING TO BE A MULTI-HOUR STROLLING EXPERIENCE. WE’VE ALL GOT TO FACE THE ‘BUYING ONLINE,’ AND IF IT’S NOT ‘BUYING ONLINE’, [IT'S] BUYING ‘BIG BOX’. IF YOU WALK INTO WALMART OR COSTCO AND YOU’RE OUT IN AN HOUR, AND YOU GOT EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED, THAT’S SO MUCH BETTER THAN A DAY AT THE MALL. I DON’T THINK THE THINGS AT THE MALL ARE INTERESTING ENOUGH ANYMORE FOR PEOPLE TO WANT TO PORE OVER THEM, AND HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE WHERE YOU WANDER AROUND THE MALL. THE KIDS WOULD GO OFF ONE WAY; PARENTS WOULD GO OFF THE OTHER. MOM AND DAD WOULD EVENTUALLY SPLIT UP, AS THEY GOT PULLED DIFFERENT WAYS. EVERYONE WOULD SORT OF WANDER AROUND; THEY’D MEET UP AT THE FOOD COURT, AT A CERTAIN TIME, AND THAT WOULD BE THAT, AND IT’S JUST NOT AN EXPERIENCE PEOPLE WANT [ANYMORE]. I THINK PEOPLE FEEL PULLED A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS, AND WE’VE GOTTEN VERY GOOD AT GETTING GOOD RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES, AT THE SAME TIME… MILLENNIALS HAVE FOUND REALLY INTERESTING, ENGAGING WAYS OF OCCUPYING THEIR TIME…YEAH, YOU KNOW PEOPLE ARE THERE TO BUY CERTAIN THINGS AT THE MALL… IF PEOPLE ARE COMING IN FOR A PARTICULAR ITEM AT MY STORE, THEY’RE PROBABLY NOT HITTING ANY OTHER STORE…NOBODY WANTS TO SHOP AROUND. AND THAT’S FINE. I’M NOT A MALL PERSON… WHEN I’M BUYING SOMETHING, I’M PROBABLY GETTING IT OFF AMAZON. I’LL BE IN THE MALL, HEADING OUT TO MY CAR, AND I’LL BE ON MY PHONE ON AMAZON BUYING THE THING THAT I WANT TO BUY, BECAUSE I WANT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT. I DON’T WANT TO SHOP AROUND IN THE MALL. AND IT’S KIND OF SURREAL THAT I LIVE IN A PLACE THAT SELLS THE THINGS I WANT, BUT I DON’T SEE EXACTLY WHAT I WANT HERE, SO RATHER THAN JUST HAVE TO SETTLE AND BUY THE BEST ONE, I’M JUST GOING TO GET ON MY PHONE…” MACLEAN STATED THAT THERE IS A “KIND OF REVOLUTION OF DIGITAL, IN TERMS OF, NOT JUST THE [HMV] ITSELF, BUT EVEN THE MALL.” FRIZZLEY ELABORATED ON THAT: “[Y]OU APPROACH THIS AWKWARD, POST-WORK SOCIETY WHERE YOU’VE KILLED RETAIL… WE CAN HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE UNEMPLOYED REALLY QUICKLY IF WE’RE DOING THIS. THAT’S THE BIGGEST THING THERE. I THINK THE LOSS OF - WE ALREADY LOST THE GOOD SIDES OF RETAIL YEARS AGO WHEN WE KILLED THE EXPERTS AND KILLED SPECIALTY STORES…” PLEASE SEE PERMANENT RECORD FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT AND ARTICLES REGARDING THE RECEIVERSHIP AND LIQUIDATION OF HMV CANADA.

Catalogue Number

P20170004004

Acquisition Date

2017-02

Collection

Museum

Less detail