Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Has iconic dog had its day on the high street?
FOR more than 100 years a beloved Bristol dog has had a cherished place on the high street due to his link with one of Britain’s great retailers.
But with music chain HMV teetering on the brink of administration the enduring legacy of Nipper, the firm’s long-time logo, may soon fade into obscurity.
The retailer could be the first postChristmas casualty of the crisis faced by the high street, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
It has experienced a dismal Christmas, with sales of DVDs plummeting due to the rise of streaming services such as Netflix.
The retailer is poised to appoint KPMG as administrators, with staff and suppliers nervously awaiting the outcome of efforts to secure its future.
It trades from around 130 stores and employs more than 2,000 staff.
It will be the second time HMV has collapsed in recent years, having filed for administration in 2013, after which it was acquired by its current owner, Hilco. High business rates, weak consumer confidence and the rise of online streaming services all took their toll on HMV.
Paul McGowan, executive chairman of HMV and Hilco, said: “During the key Christmas trading period the market for DVD fell by over 30 per cent compared to the previous year.
“HMV has clearly not been insulated from the general malaise of the UK high street.
“Business rates alone represent an annual cost to HMV in excess of £15 million.”
If it were to be lost to the high street it would also mean the end of a noted piece of Bristol history.
HMV stands for His Master’s Voice – and Nipper’s master was Mark Henry Barraud, a scenic artist at the Prince’s Theatre in Park Row, Bristol.
Nipper’s fascination with the sound coming from the horn of an early gramophone gave rise to one of the most famous commercial images of all time.
Nipper is commemorated in Park Row, where there is a model and a plaque, while Mark’s brother, Francis, who painted the dog’s famous portrait, has a memorial in Hampstead cemetery.
Francis later recalled: “We had a phonograph and I often noticed how Nipper was puzzled where the voice came from. It suddenly occurred to me that to have my dog listening to a phonograph with an intelligent expression would make an excellent subject. It turned out to be the happiest thought I ever had.”
In 1898, three years after the dog’s death, Francis painted a picture of Nipper listening to a phonograph. He offered it to Thomas Edison, one of whose phonographs was in the painting. Edison rejected it, saying: “Dogs don’t listen to phonographs.”
So Francis offered the painting to the newly-formed Gramophone Company, which agreed to buy it if their own phonograph was pictured.
It was adopted as their trademark and the Gramophone Company even decided to change its name to His Master’s Voice – HMV.