Despite perceived tumult across the CE retailscape, things are surprisingly orderly.
Only three retailers fell off the rankings this year, and only in one instance — Hastings Entertainment — was it due to liquidation.
Related: Find out how to obtain a copy of the 2017 TWICE Top 100 CE Retailers Report.
Hastings, a 123-store music, movie, book and gaming chain, quietly closed shop last June after a bankruptcy filing failed to produce any buyers. The company was founded in 1972 by Sam Marmaduke, a music distributor who convinced Walmart to sell LPs. By the time of its last appearance on the Top 100, Hastings ranked 93rd with $15 million in CE sales, and had become something of an anachronism in the age of streaming content.
The other departures were somewhat less dramatic. Last year’s 75th–ranked retailer, Pacific Sales, remains alive and well as a freestanding subsidiary and in-store department of Best Buy. But due to negligible standalone sales we decided to fold its CE revenue in with those of its corporate parent. And No. 31 of lore, TigerDirect, was sold to MacMall parent PCM and folded into its operations.
Looking ahead to next year’s list, it’s probably safe to say that barring the purchase and resurrection of the hhgregg brand, the Indianapolis-based chain has seen the last of the TWICE rankings — or anything else for that matter — while RadioShack remains on deathwatch after losing Sprint, closing more stores, and weighing its post-bankruptcy options.
