The size of a supermarket and called HMV Vault, the Birmingham shop is stocking 80,000 CDs and 25,000 vinyl albums.
He said HMV had an advantage over Amazon because it offered an experience and was a part of local communities.
As he puts the finishing touches to his new store, Putman is optimistic: “The market is definitely down but we are way ahead of the market.
The Birmingham store – underneath a carpark in a less salubrious part of the city centre shopping district – is aiming to offer something Amazon cannot.