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For more than 60 years, hhgregg has grown from its roots in Indianapolis. And grown and grown.
But despite averaging 20 percent annual growth for more than a decade now, the appliance and electronics retailer has not entered the Chicago market, less than 200 miles from where the company was founded.
Beginning this weekend, that all changes. Stepping into a spot formerly filled by Circuit City, hhgregg will open 14 stores around Chicago on Labor Day weekend. In Crystal Lake, it will open in the former home of Circuit City at 4483 Northwest Highway.
In Gurnee, it opens at 6911 Grand Ave., in the former Linens n Things. And in Vernon Hills, it will be at 555 E. Townline Road, suite 19, across the street from Hawthorne Mall. In Geneva, it opens at 710 Commons Drive in the Shops at Geneva Commons, next to Joann Fabrics in the former home of CompUSA.
“It starts with real estate,” hhgregg Chief Operating Officer Gregg Throgmartin said of the decision to enter Chicago. “Circuit City, Linens n Things, Borders have all left, and there’s real estate available. And landlords are being aggressive with those sites.”
But finding a place isn’t the only reason why hhgregg is able to make the move, Throgmartin said. It also is able to tap into another key resource in the market.
“Because of the labor market situation, there are some outstanding people available,” he said. “When you’re at 4 [percent] or 5 percent unemployment and real estate is tight, it’s not all that exciting to expand. But now is.”
That gives hhgregg the ability to differentiate itself from competitors in a pair of important ways, Throgmartin said – price and service.
“That’s how this company started,” he said. “My great-grandfather and great-grandmother started with great services, and that’s what we’ve carried forward.
“People make this business out to be more complicated than it needs to be. You don’t need a Harvard MBA to figure it out. Provide a great price with great selection and great service. People in Chicago are going to appreciate the experience they get.”
The company will employ about 50 workers at each of the 14 locations, and all of them will be given 200 hours of training in the first year.
“That person in your family, the one who knows more than anybody else about computers? We have them here, and they’re right in your neighborhood,” Throgmartin said.
The stores will contain more than 100 TVs, including flat-panel, high-definition, and 3D TVs. Throgmartin said they also would be able to flip between the in-house video feed and a regular cable setup to show customers what they TV will look like when they get it home. An audio section will feature top brands such as Sony, JVC, and Bose, with speakers, home theater systems, receivers and more.
The computer section will contain desktop, laptop, and tablet computers – all of which can be picked up and tried by customers in store. The company has a computer optimization desk in the store to help get a new computer ready for the customer to use, whether that’s taking off pre-installed items that might slow down startup functions, or setting up passwords for the customer to have ready at home. Those services also are available in home, Throgmartin said.
A wireless desk promotes Verizon products, with customers able to buy or upgrade Verizon phones at hhgregg – “Anything you can do at a Verizon corporate store you can do here,” Throgmartin said, “including bill pay.”
The appliance area contains dishwashers, stoves, microwaves, refrigerators, freezers, washers and dryers, vacuums and air conditioners. A kitchen vignette shows some of the items displayed together, and delivery service and setup for all units is available as well.
Tucked in the back corner is the mattress area, where customers are invited to learn and test out different mattress bedding. Throgmartin said that department often got a raised eyebrow from journalists or customers in new markets, but that it made sense to the company.
“When people are buying appliances, it’s often for two reasons – something broke and it needs replacing, or people are moving,” he said. “And when people are moving, that’s usually when they look at mattresses.”
Rather than being served by different associates in each department, customers will have one employee take care of nearly all their needs.
“They’ll greet you at the door, sell the product, type up the transaction, and call when it gets delivered,” Throgmartin said, “not to make sure you got it, but to make sure there aren’t any other questions, or that it’s working the way the customer expected it to when they were in the store. It is a professional relationship that we’re trying to build.”