INDIANAPOLIS –
hhgregg is looking to become the nation’s
next appliance giant.
The multiregional majap, CE and
furniture chain predicted that white
goods will become its biggest product
category, and intimated that conditions
are ripe for it to usurp Sears
as the nation’s preeminent appliance
retailer.
Without naming names, president/
CEO Dennis May told analysts during
an earnings call last week that “changes
in the competitive landscape have
created a significant opportunity for
hhgregg to play a leadership role in
the industry.”
White-goods supremacy is not inconceivable
for the company, which
even now is a major force within the
majap trade. With just 208 stores in
16 states, it already is the country’s fifth-largest full-line appliance
retailer behind Sears, Lowe’s, The Home Depot
and Best Buy, according to TWICE’s Top 100 Major Appliance
Retailers Report, and it continues to pursue an aggressive
expansion strategy with the goal of becoming a
national chain.
Internally, appliances are the company’s
highest gross profit category
and will eventually surpass video as
its largest dollar-volume business.
The drivers, May said, include a dedicated
sales force and initiatives like
in-store kitchen vignettes that are
helping the chain grow market share
and outpace the industry in comparable
store sales.
The efforts are clearly paying off:
hhgregg’s white-goods comps grew
nearly 7 percent during the fourth
quarter despite a nearly 13 percent
decline in industry shipments, May
noted, as the company hit the “appliance
trifecta” of good draw, high close
rates and rising average selling prices.
The CEO anticipates even greater
gains going forward with the planned expansion of its cooking
and built-in product offerings.
“We have the opportunity to do something special in appliances,”
he said. “Appliances are part of our DNA.”
