H. H. Gregg, 230 Forum Drive: May 2017 10 comments
I was sure I had done a closing for 230 Forum Drive before, but looking at Alphabetical Closings, I don't see anything.
At any rate, H. H. Gregg is the latest casualty of the ongoing Amazon-era retail meltdown. With the closing of Circuit City, I thought that the appliance & electronics big box market would be able to support the two remaining stores, Gregg and Best Buy, but in the event I guess not. For that matter, it still remains to be seen if *one* store is sustainable long term.
I believe this is the only H. H. Gregg I have ever been in, and I was only in it once. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just checking it out, and as I recall, my impression was that I liked Best Buy better.
Here is a very interesting article from The Indianapolis Business Journal about this Indianapolis based company, its storied history, and the path to bankruptcy this March 7th and then quickly after that, the slide into liquidation:
In the early 1980s, when Detroit-based appliance retailer Fretter Inc. entered Indianapolis and challenged HHGregg on its home turf, HHGregg bought full-page ads in the Detroit newspapers hawking its own merchandise and offering free shipping.
Those were heady days for HHGregg, which built a loyal following in Indianapolis with an unwavering focus on customer service; an army of well-paid, full-time commissioned salespeople; and an avalanche of advertising that resonated with consumers.
It was a winning formula for founders H.H. and Fansy Gregg, who opened the first store at 4930 N. Keystone Ave. in 1955, and for the family members who helped build the chain to more than 200 locations in the decades that followed.
“The customer-first attitude came from Mr. and Mrs. Gregg,” said Ken Beckley, an HHGregg executive from 1983 to 2001 who also was the face of the company’s advertising. “When I was there, we preached to employees that job No. 1 is to take good care of the customer. If you do that, profits will follow. We never put profits first. We put customers first, and it paid off.”
The strategy helped fell a long list of rivals—including Fretter and Highland Superstores Inc., another Detroit chain that dove into Indianapolis in the early 1980s. Both firms later skidded into bankruptcy, with a Highland executive calling Indianapolis its “Death Valley.” In 1998, Circuit City Stores Inc., then a retail powerhouse, arrived in Indianapolis, only to land in liquidation a decade later.
Now, done in by a long list of problems—including overexpansion and a collapse in sales of consumer electronics, once its biggest business—HHGregg is joining the trash heap of failed appliance and electronics retailers.
The company’s demise has been unfolding in slow motion for years, but the final unraveling came with breathtaking speed.
Reminds me of Hemingway's famous quote.
Aside from Gregg, this can't be very good for Sandhill either.
10 Responses to 'H. H. Gregg, 230 Forum Drive: May 2017'
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Tom
18 Apr 17 at 11:11 am
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I'm a little annoyed that they never (that I can find) released their 2017 10-K, I'd love to see what's in there. Their 3rd quarter 10-Q last year was pretty grim and told the story of a company that was extremely slow to adapt to a new market and changing customer expectations. Too slow, as it turns out.
Jason
18 Apr 17 at 12:12 pm
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Come on!!!!! Who didn't love a place with 100 dollar HDMI cables? Had a former friend who use to work there. Couldn't support the high prices on things that could shipped to my house. For at least 1 percent of that price.
Wayne
18 Apr 17 at 10:49 pm
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When it came to the TV's they were right in line (price wise) with Best Buy. I was always compared the same MODEL NUMBER with Best Buy. Every time I bought a TV from HH Gregg, I had one of their $200 off coupons. So it was always a great deal for me. People kill me when they go to WalMart, Best Buy, HH Gregg, etc and buy HDMI cables. You can get a 2 pack, 6 foot cables for under $10 online.
Sidney
19 Apr 17 at 9:19 am
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I appreciate Ted quoting the article from the Indianapolis Business Journal. I am originally from Indianapolis and I remember delivering office furniture to H.H. Gregg's headquarters and a few of their stores in the 1990s. The furniture was for their own business use and not something they would have resold. I vaguely remember the Highland stores the article refers to, but do not remember Fretter's.
H.H. Gregg was very much a regional player until Circuit City went bankrupt. I think they probably expanded too quickly to fill the void left by Circuit City in the face of competition from online retailers like Amazon. I am sad to see this closing because of it being based in my hometown.
I know out west, Fry's is a big competitor in the appliance and electronics market. I wonder if they will attempt to move east with the demise of Gregg.
James R
19 Apr 17 at 10:57 pm
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The HH Gregg in Harbison is closing as well.
Blaner
2 May 17 at 10:34 pm
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All 220 hhgreggs are closing (across 19 states)...I anticipate the Harbison one Blainer mentioned (on Bower Parkway) featuring here in due course...
Andrew
2 May 17 at 11:43 pm
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It appears to me as if Ashley Homestore has opened here...
Andrew
7 Mar 18 at 3:15 pm
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It was Ashley Furniture before HH Gregg. Funny they decided to come back.
Sidney
8 Mar 18 at 11:37 am
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I think Ashley was open in the space where müv fitness next door is now initially but then it folded because of some sort of issues at the corporate level Ashley Homestore was having (their Harbison store was closed for a time because of it but finally did reopen)...then when hhgregg went under Ashley decided to reopen in their former space...
Andrew
8 Mar 18 at 11:49 am
A friend of mine applied to be a manager for them sometime ago. Yesterday received a message from them asking if she would come in for an interview! (She obviously said "no.")