Canadian record store chain Sunrise buys part of UK’s ailing HMV Group

Sunrise Records, a Canadian record stores chain, has agreed to buy most of HMV Group in the United Kingdom in an auction overseen by the embattled music retailer’s administrators, fending off a rival bid by Mike Ashley, the billionaire retail magnate behind Sports Direct International.

The sale is separate from a move by HMV Digital China Group to wind up its HMV retail stores in Hong Kong as part of a provisional liquidation of its HMV retail unit in December.

Douglas Putnam, who runs Sunrise and bought HMV’s Canadian unit in 2017, will gain control of 100 stores, according to KPMG, which is serving as the administrator for the UK business. The remaining 27 shops in Britain will be shut down, putting 455 employees out of work.

HMV, which employs about 2,000 people in the UK, began insolvency procedures in December for the second time in six years, as compact discs have become outmoded in favour of online music streaming. Sunrise is betting that there is enough of a market niche that some shops will survive.

“The physical media business is here to stay,” Putnam said in a statement.

The Canadian entrepreneur is entering a market fraught with challenges as the UK’s impending exit from the European Union weighs on consumption. Debenhams is struggling to pay off debt, while online retailer Ocado Group reported earnings that missed analysts’ estimates on Tuesday.