Not since the breakdown of Woolworths has a retail administration prompted such an outpouring of public support as that which has surrounded entertainment retailer HMV.

Not since the breakdown of Woolworths has a retail administration prompted such an outpouring of public support as that which has surrounded entertainment retailer HMV.

For anyone of a certain age, HMV is synonymous with the music that created the soundtrack to their youth.

And the media has been filled with anecdotes of lost Saturday afternoons browsing aisles of LPs and later CDs, and bands and artists discovered.

Unfortunately, nostalgia alone was not enough to stave off the administrators.

HMV has been heading towards a restructure since someone first clicked a download button. This administration was not driven by the economy. And while successive management teams have failed to counter Amazon’s growing domination of CD sales, the structural challenge faced by HMV was greater than even that.

Put simply, demand for the products at the core of HMV’s business is disappearing as a new generation of music lovers shun CDs for MP3s or simply refuse to pay for music altogether.

HMV has attempted to broaden its product offer, most notably into technology, but so far it has failed to convince consumers to buy into that transformation. Meanwhile, the shrinking space given over to albums has chipped away at its connection with the serious music consumer.

All that said, it is hard to believe a reformed HMV, relieved of debt and armed with a scaled back estate, doesn’t have a future. After all, it controlled close to 38% of the physical music market even as it hit the buffers.

Importantly, that’s the opinion of a number of key stakeholders, from potential suitors to a supplier base determined to see the retailer survive.

Management too has remained bullish, suggesting chief executive Trevor Moore is keen to implement the turnaround he has barely had time to begin.

These sentiments will have been buoyed by the public support. From bands and DJs to the buying public, everyone has had an HMV story to tell this week. Such memories should not be dismissed, as they hark back to exactly the kind of values an entertainment retailer should still stand for: discovery, experience and fun.

While it’s hard to ignore the longer-term dangers posed by a market in such decline, HMV’s market share, the support of its suppliers and public affection point to it surviving this process. But it will be critical new owners leverage all three to combat continuing structural threats if survival is to translate into a comeback.