DOZENS of staff at a Chester music store could lose their jobs if a potential buyer fails to step up and save the nationwide chain.

On Tuesday (January 15) HMV Group PLC called in administrators leaving 4,123 members of staff fearing for the future of their jobs at its 223 nationwide stores.

And yesterday (Wednesday) staff at Blockbuster in Boughton faced uncertainty over their jobs after the DVD rental chain called in administrators, after failing to compete with online rivals.

Staff at the popular HMV store on Foregate Street in Chester arrived at work on Tuesday morning to find the company had been placed in administration and a notice stuck in the shop window announcing the entertainment giant’s demise.

Meanwhile music lovers across the city were unable to spend vouchers and gift cards, many which had been bought as Christmas presents, after administrators Deloitte declared they would not honour the now worthless cards.

Fans of the music and entertainment giant took to social networking sites to express their anger and sadness over the potential closure of the stores, and HMV fan Andrea Greenwood told the Chronicle it was a ‘sad day for all staff and music fans’.

Yesterday (Wednesday) administrators, called in by HMV, Deloitte remained positive about the future of the chain, saying they had already recieved ‘very positive’ expressions of interest from several parities.

HMV and Blockbuster’s demise comes less than a week after photography chain Jessops was forced into administration, seeing the store on Grosvenor Street close its doors.