Key facts about music retailer HMV

Beleaguered entertainment giant HMV has become the latest retail casualty on the high street.

Here are a few facts about the 92-year-old music retailer:

:: The chain was founded in 1921 with the arrival of its landmark store in Oxford Street.

:: It was opened on July 20 that year by the composer and conductor Sir Edward Elgar.

:: The company became known for its "His Master's Voice" trademark, the name relating to an 1898 painting of a dog called Nipper listening to a gramophone.

:: Tragedy struck at the HMV store and offices in Oxford Street on December 26 1937 when the shop's caretaker William Travis died in a fire which destroyed the building.

:: During the Second World War, the Oxford Street store stayed open for business while parent company EMI's record factory at Hayes, west London, was used for munitions manufacturing.

:: The Waterstones book chain became part of the HMV stable in 1998 but was sold off in 2011 as the troubled music chain attempted to get its finances in order.

:: The store developed into a live music and ticketing operator, owning a string of venues and bars including London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo.

:: HMV now comprises around 238 outlets and 20 live entertainment venues and festivals.

:: It employs more than 4,000 people.

:: The chain operates from entertainment stores and websites in the UK and Ireland, Hong Kong and Singapore.