HMV makes profit pledge

HMV will be profitable by the end of the year despite having lost money for almost a decade, said its new owner. Doug Putman, the entrepreneur who heads up Sunrise Records, told Retail Week magazine it would return to profitability by overhauling its website, improving customer service and selling more vinyl records. He is also shutting 27 HMV stores, including its flagship on Oxford Street in London, which was called His Master’s Voice when it was opened in 1921 by composer Sir Edward Elgar. Asked when HMV would become profitable, Putman, 34, said: ‘By the end of the year.’ HMV made an £8.7m loss in 2017.