AN iconic high street giant is set to return today after over 20 years and fans can’t wait.
Classic record chain Our Price is officially relaunching in the UK today after disappearing.
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The record store was once a staple of the UK high street from the early 1970s until 2004.
The first store was on London‘s Finchley Road, and the brand had as many as 300 branches at its peak, making it one of the biggest music store chains in the UK.
Last week Our Price revealed it would be making a return and music lovers will once again be able to buy thousands of vinyls and other merch.
Shoppers can browse the catalogue online only for now, owners have not ruled out the return to physical stores at some point in the future.
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In a post on social media, the retailer said: “Countdown’s ticking and we’re pumped.
“And (if I’m honest) pretty jittery. We’re a crew of musos, DJs and enthusiasts reviving a beloved brand. We’re not exactly swimming in cash, so no flashy launch.
“We’re doing things organically, adding new lines every month. For us, it’s all about good vibes and keeping it personal.”
A spokesperson said on Instagram that from today it has around 50,000 vinyl and some “very cool” T-shirts.
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The site will also sell a range of hi-fi and audio equipment.
You can browse the website at ourprice.com.
The news today comes after HMV reopened its iconic flagship store in November last year – four years after it fell into administration.
HMV shut the store in 2019 after the retail chain tumbled into administration and was forced to axe stores and jobs.
The retailer was rescued from insolvency by Canadian Doug Putman’s Sunrise Records business.
OUR PRICE HISTORY
Our Price was first founded in 1971 by Gary Nesbitt, Edward Stollins and Mike Isaacs.
Over the first five years, the original six stores were branded The Tape Revolution and mainly sold CDs and eight-track tapes.
Then in 1976, the chain was rebranded as Our Price Records.
Later in 1988, it rebranded yet again as Our Price Music, before changing again to Our Price in 1993.
At this stage, it had over 300 branches across the UK and Ireland.
In the early 1980s Our Price was the second largest retailer of records and tapes, after Woolworths as the largest.
Brand recognition was driven by pun-rich radio advertising built around the “Get Down To Our Price” slogan, which later transferred to TV too.
Our Price was bought by WHSmith in 1986, and sold to Virgin in 1998, who rebranded over 100 of the sites as Virgin Megastores or VShops.
The early 2000s saw Virgin sell off its own-brand stores, then named Zavvi, while the remaining 77 Our Price stores were sold to Brazin Limited for £2.
Following a steady decline in sales, the last Our Price shop closed in 2004.
OTHER STORE OPENINGS
Several other major retailers are expanding their presence on UK high streets.
Lidl is set to open hundreds of new stores across the UK,
The discount supermarket will soon welcome shoppers to new stores across the country, from Bristol in the West Country, Birmingham in the West Midlands and Berwick in Scotland.
Aldi has also announced that it will open 35 new UK stores.
The openings form part of Aldi‘s long-term target of 1,500 stores in the UK.
The supermarket is set to invest £550million in expanding its UK footprint this year alone.
Aldi said that each new store opening will create around 40 new jobs on average.
Asda has been opening hundreds of convenience stores in recent months as it looks to rival major players Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
B&M plans to open “not less than” 45 brand new stores across the UK in each of the next two consecutive years.
The parent company of Bonmarché, Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) and Peacocks, Purepay Retail Limited, has said it wants to open 100 new high street stores over the next 18 months.
It has yet to give the exact locations where it will open the 100 stores or when they will open.
One of the UK’s favourite bakery chain, Greggs, has exclusively revealed to The Sun plans to open more outlet branches by the end of 2025.
Home Bargains, which was running just under 600 branches as of last June, has said it wants to “eventually have between 800 and 1,000 retail outlets open”.
The major discounter has stopped short of saying when it wants to reach the 1,000 store target, however.
Primark is also opening new branches and investing and renovating more than a dozen of its existing shops.
Screwfix is set to open 40 new stores nationwide as its owner, Kingfisher, seeks to expand the DIY brand’s national presence.
The brand opened two new stores in March, and a further three new shops will open this month.
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Tesco has revealed plans to open 70 more stores across the UK over the next year as part of major expansion plans.
WHSmith has turned its focus to the travel side of its business, with plans to open new sites in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
