HMV stands for "His Master's Voice" which comes from a famous 1899 painting of a dog named Nipper listening to a phonograph. HMV was originally founded in London in 1921 as a British company operating retail stores selling entertainment products using the iconic dog logo from the painting. Over time, HMV expanded its retail operations throughout the UK and Ireland, opening its first dedicated store in 1921 on Oxford Street in London and continuing to grow in the following decades.