MUSIC and video chain HMV is poised to become the first post-Christmas casualty of a “tsunami of challenges” facing the high street in 2019.

The retailer – which has branches in Bournemouth’s Avenue Centre and Poole’s Dolphin Centre – went into administration yesterday.

A major local branch at Castlepoint closed when the chain last fell into administration in 2013 and was bought by its current owner Hilco.

Paul McGowan, executive chairman of HMV and Hilco, said: “During the key Christmas trading period the market for DVDs fell by over 30 per cent compared to the previous year and, whilst HMV performed considerably better than that, such a deterioration in a key sector of the market is unsustainable.”

He said costs had been rising and the company had an annual business rates bill of more than £15million.

“Even an exceptionally well-run and much-loved business such as HMV cannot withstand the tsunami of challenges facing UK retailers over the last 12 months on top of such a dramatic change in consumer behaviour in the entertainment market,” he added.

At Bournemouth’s Avenue Centre branch of HMV yesterday, Louise Reynolds and Brett Winchcombe said they used the store as a replacement for the branch which closed in Southampton.

Louise said she was “devastated”, adding: “We either go to Gunwharf or if we’re in Bournemouth, we come here. If we’re in a town where there’s an HMV, we always go in.

“It’s a generational thing. My children are 15 and 17 and going into a shop to look for a DVD is not something they would ever dream of doing.”

Brett said: “We’re appalled. We spend hours in there.”

Rob Sizer, visiting from Solihull, said he hardly ever came to the shop, preferring to use Google’s Play store for film-watching. “It’s more convenient than having a pile of DVDs all jumbled up,” he added.

Alan Rowett, who runs the independent record shop the Vault in Bournemouth and Christchurch, said it would be sad if the country’s last national record shop was lost. But he said HMV’s previous spell in administration had not solved its problems.

“They got rid of all the biggest stores but they didn’t change what was in the stores and the problem with HMV was they were well and truly left behind,” he said.

“They hadn’t responded to the digital market and streaming and they were piling it high with stuff that people didn’t really want any more. DVDs and Blu-rays make up a good third or 40 per cent of the stock, which no one’s buying.”

He said independent record shops were growing in popularity, with more than 100 opening in the past two to three years. But new CDs were not the focus of their business. “In the Bournemouth shop we don’t sell that many CDs. It’s mainly vinyl and second hand. HMV would never sell second hand,” he added.