HMV: a new spin for an old stalwart

City rumours had it that Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley would snap up HMV, said Joe Curtis in City AM. Turn that record over. Following a dramatic late entry into the contest for the “iconic” high street music titan, which collapsed for a second time in six years in December, the Canadian music entrepreneur Doug Putman has emerged as the successful bidder. Putman’s Sunrise Records is paying an undisclosed sum for HMV – pledging to revitalise it by boosting vinyl sales. Given the steady decline of physical media sales, plenty of analysts are sceptical about whether the plan to make LPS “a major revenue driver” is really a runner. Does HMV have a big opportunity under the new owner or is it “still living on borrowed time”, asked Russ Mould of AJ Bell.

The deal, through which Sunrise will snap up 100 HMV stores, isn’t a pain-free solution. Although some 1,500 jobs will be saved, 27 stores are scheduled to close. But it’s good news for HMV’S landlords, or at least better than Ashley’s offer: he was reportedly demanding a six-month rent holiday to secure a rescue deal. The chain’s suppliers are also said to be “keen to work with Putman”, 34, who bought 70 stores from HMV Canada when it collapsed two years ago, said Sam Chambers in The Sunday Times. He’s come a long way since acquiring Sunrise in 2014, “when it had just a handful of stores in Ontario”.

Putman, a professed music lover, is “adamant that bricks-and-mortar music stores are still viable”, said Angela Monaghan in The Guardian. He has compared record shopping to a “treasure hunt”: he wants to lead customers “to something unexpected”. That approach looks to have worked in Canada, where his 84 stores are now turning a profit. Time will tell if the gamble pays off on this side of the Atlantic too.