The 90s revival continues! WH Smith announces it's selling vinyl in shops again
Date:
Tue, 22 Oct 2024 11:23:10 +0000
Description:
WH Smith is about to become your local record store again someone tell me Woolworths is reopening!
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Searching for a sign that vinyl's resurgence is only gaining momentum and
not waning by 33, as was reported a few days ago? Have at this, my LP-loving brothers and sisters: WH Smith is about to start stocking vinyl in 80 of its stores again. It's something the beloved British high-street staple stopped doing in the 90s, when it seemed that CDs were the future
As first reported by The Standard , WH Smith store locations that will stock vinyl include Chester, Canterbury, Edinburgh, Gyle and York.
WH Smith which began life as a news vendor in London's Little Grosvenor Street opened by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna, in 1792 first started selling vinyl albums in the 1950s. Interestingly, the company remained under the ownership of the Smith family until the 1970s and (according to
Wikipedia) the last the family member left the board in 1996.
Circling back to the vinyl, why is WH Smith doing this now? In December of last year, the British Phonographic Industry stated that vinyl sales had
risen for the 16th consecutive year and better yet, figures showed sales
were growing "at their fastest rate this decade". If you prefer cold hard stats, the report showed an 11.7 per cent increase to 5.9 million units in 2023 a significant increase on the 2.3 per cent rise the previous year, in 2022. Smells like teen spirit
I know, it's like announcing Woolworths is about to reopen, complete with dedicated pick 'n' mix aisle. Only it'll be me (ripped high-waist jeans; freshly-crimped hair piled on top of my head not unlike Felicity Kendall's
in my lead image) filling my trolley with 12-inch LPs rather than separate bags of toffee bon-bons and fizzy watermelon slices.
What'll be Top of the Pops in Smith's vinyl section? I'll take a wild guess
at Taylor Swift's 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department , Oasis' re-issued The Masterplan and Fontaines D.C.'s newest Romance for starters.
Want to get on the stacks-of-wax trip but don't have a means to spin plates just yet? Our pick of the best turntables is a great place to start,
including one-box plug 'n' play beginner options or something more long-term see also our guide to the best stereo speakers .
All that's needed to complete my retro-escapist audio journey is for Apple to start selling my beloved iPod Classic again. But maybe I'll do as my US colleague suggests and secure my Clairol-crimped hair with an iPod Shuffle instead, before heading down to WH Smith for a crate rummage happy hunting! You may also like... This beautiful and well-priced turntable from a vinyl great looks like seriously tempting spinner Pro-Ject's affordable new T1 EVO turntables are ideal to get serious about vinyl without breaking the bank Technics' 'breathtaking' new turntable is a brass act
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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/audio/hi-fi/the-90s-revival-continues-wh-smith-annou nces-its-selling-vinyl-in-shops-again
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