Sunrise Records announces expansion into Sault Ste. Marie

A Toronto-based record store chain has announced it will expand its presence in northern Ontario.

Sunrise Records released a list on Thursday of 29 former HMV storefronts it acquired as part of an ongoing expansion that is slated to take the company into communities from coast to coast. That list includes the site in Sault Ste. Marie's Station Mall — the only northern Ontario location on the list.

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Sunrise already has a location in North Bay. In a written release, the company said it will continue to announce new locations in the coming weeks. HMV closed sites in other northern communities like Sudbury and Thunder Bay.

Officials with Sunrise also said the company is reaching out to former HMV staff affected by that chain's closure.

"We want to let any former HMV employees know that we are opening, and we want to hear from them," Sunrise Records president Doug Putman was quoted as saying in a written release.

Putman has told the CBC the company is making a seven-figure investment in the expansion and he hopes to turn a profit by next year.

He added that with lower head office costs, renegotiated leases and more depth in the record catalogue, Sunrise can succeed where HMV and so many others have failed.