HMV is to be integrated into 26 Xtravision stores nationwide by the end of September, according to restructuring specialist Hilco Capital, which bought the DVD rental chain out of receivership earlier this summer.

The stores are to be dual-branded, bringing together the two retail names, and introducing HMV to areas of the country it wasn't in before, Hilco Capital chief executive Larry Howard said.

Dual branding
"We have now reached agreement with a number of landlords and will therefore be dual branding some of our stores with Xtravision and HMV," he said.

Mr Howard added that negotiations with other landlords were ongoing and the company hoped to make a further announcement in the coming weeks if negotiations came to a satisfactory conclusion.

The stores to be dual-branded include Athlone, Ballina, Blackpool, Douglas, Carlow, Drogheda, Dundalk, Ennis, and Galway.

As part of the plan to return HMV to Ireland, Hilco is opening four standalone HMV stores in the coming weeks.

Dundrum Centre
The first three stores at Henry Street and Liffey Valley shopping centre in Dublin and at the Crescent shopping centre in Limerick will open their doors next week, while the store in the Dundrum Centre in Dublin will open in the week ending September 14th.

Last April, Hilco bought HMV in the UK and Republic, where it was going through separate insolvency procedures. Xtravision appointed Luke Charleton and Colin Farquharson of Ernst & Young as receivers to the business in April after a downturn in rentals and a withdrawal of credit insurance left it with difficulty meeting liabilities.