100 HMV stores saved from closure

05 February 2019, 10:07 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

(News)

100 HMV stores have been saved from closure after the music retail chain was bought out by Sunrise Records' Doug Putman.

New owner Putman acquired the Canadian HMV retailer back in 2017, and merged it with his own Sunrise Records.

HMV fell into administration for the second time in six years before Christmas. Putman won the bid for the UK chain over Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, and will keep 100 of the 127 UK branches open, including four Fopp stores.

The Guardian report that Putman's acquisition has saved over 1500 jobs across the country. 27 stores are set to close immediately, with a total of 455 jobs being lost. 122 warehouse jobs are set to be lost in the near future.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Putman explained, "Unfortunately, as rents continue to go up it’s not feasible to keep those stores. You can only lose so much money on those stores before you need to make a change. Unfortunately rents are just very high at this time."

The new owner confirmed HMV will keep its name rather than changing to Sunrise Records. He added, "We spent the last little while trying to negotiate a deal that made sense for everybody, keeping as many stores open and as many people employed as possible. We’ve been able to come up with a great deal that allows 100 of the stores to continue on."

Putman took over Sunrise Records back in 2014 with only five stores. In 2017 he managed to expand his retailer to 70 of the closing Canadian HMV branches.