Indianapolis — Same-store sales at hhgregg rose a modest 3 percent during its fiscal third quarter, ended Dec. 31, the company reported yesterday, providing further confirmation of a soft holiday selling season.
The multi-regional brown- and white-goods chain also cautioned that the retail climate may get even tougher during the current quarter.
In a statement, CEO Jerry Throgmartin said the company was “very pleased with our execution” during the critical October to December period, and that the comp gains came on top of a 5.6 percent increase in 2006.
No. 2 CE chain Circuit City yesterday reported a 12.2 percent decline in domestic comps for December, and PRO Group executive director Dave Workman, during its annual International CES cocktail party Sunday night, described the holiday period as challenging for his specialty A/V buying organization.
Best Buy will report its December sales results this Friday.
Throgmartin said the next three months may get even tougher. “We expect the quarter, ended March 31, to be a more challenging quarter given the general economic environment and slowing traffic patterns. We will continue to execute on our store growth plan and will be focused on delivering a superior customer purchase experience.”
hhgregg will report is third-quarter results on February 14.
