Method to his Madness: British rapper Kano has been endorsing clothing line Boxfresh, which has agreed to have its range sold at HMV

Music retailer HMV is expanding into the fashion business and will begin stocking clothes in its Dublin shops this week.
The company has signed deals with brands such as Boxfresh, Lee Jeans, FLY53 and Eastpak to sell their clothes in-store. The retail offering will eventually be rolled out across the retailer's portfolio with most shops eventually offering some form of fashion.
The move is part of HMV's repositioning away from its traditional music, film and computer game offering, in part due to the ubiquity of downloaded music. It has also bought MAMA group's concert venues and festivals as part of the diversification.
Matt Winton of Boxfresh said the brand decided to work with HMV in part because of the musicians it pays to endorse its products.
"Boxfresh has been collaborating with Kano – a key artist for us – throughout 2010, and this has culminated in Kano's album releasing around the same time as the Boxfresh launch within HMV's new-look fashion department," said Winton.