H. H. Gregg, Inc. (stylized as hhgregg or HHgregg on their website) is an American online retailer and former retail chain of

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually r ...

and

home appliances A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. Appliances are divided into three ...

in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast United States, that operated stores in 20 states including

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Valor Group LLC purchased the brand from the company's bankruptcy trustee for $400,000 in 2017. H.H. Gregg closed all stores in liquidation and had been operating as an online-only retailer since August that year. Founded in

Princeton, Indiana Princeton is the largest city in and the county seat of Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana, Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana, Gibson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 8,301 at the 2020 United States Census, and it is pa ...

in 1955, H. H. Gregg was headquartered in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

when it ceased operating. Its retail offerings included home entertainment video and audio products, computers, and other selected consumer electronics; home appliances, such as refrigerators, ranges,

dishwasher A dishwasher is a machine that is used to clean dishware, cookware, and cutlery automatically. Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies heavily on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, ty ...

freezer A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

washers Washer most commonly refers to: * Washer (hardware), a thin usually disc-shaped plate with a hole in the middle typically used with a bolt or nut *Washing machine, for cleaning clothes Washer may also refer to: *Dishwasher, a machine for clean ...

, and

dryers Dryer (or drier) may refer to: Drying equipment * Hair dryer * Hand dryer * Clothes dryer, also known as a tumble-dryer * Belt dryer * Desiccant, a substance that absorbs or adsorbs water * Grain dryer, for storage grain bins * Oil drying agent ...

; and other products and services, including mattresses. The company announced on November 24, 2008, that they would begin selling popular gaming systems such as

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

and

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

. H. H. Gregg reported an annual revenue of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1.96 billion in fiscal year 2016. On March 6, 2017, H. H. Gregg filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing followed the decision to close 88 unprofitable locations outside of its core markets. Troubles for H. H. Gregg continued and the Chapter 11 case was ultimately converted to Chapter 7 liquidation. The company announced on April 7, 2017, that it would also close all of its other stores (132 more than the 88 previously announced closures) in the coming months and would lay off about 5,000 people.

History

In 1955, a small storefront was erected by Henry Harold and Fansy Gregg on the north side of Indianapolis. The new store featured

, featuring

washing machines A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and i ...

, clothes dryers,

refrigerators A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

, and grills. Shortly thereafter, they began selling televisions and other electronics. Hhgreggstoremap

In 1975, Jerry W. Throgmartin began working in his grandfather's store while attending

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

. He eventually worked his way through many positions there over the next 24 years, and in 1999, took over his father's position as

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, and

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of H. H. Gregg Appliances and Electronics. Dennis L. May succeeded Throgmartin as H. H. Gregg's president and Chief Executive Officer on February 17, 2009, and Throgmartin was named Executive Chairman of the Board. Throgmartin died in January 2012. Despite market trends that have diminished profit margins on

high-tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

devices, Throgmartin and May expanded the business to 125 stores in 9 states as of October 2009. Throgmartin said, "We've been fortunate in that the areas of the onsumer electronicsbusiness that have been strong are the areas in which we excel: high-end large-screen flat-panel TVs and home theater, and higher-end appliances". On July 8, 2009, the company announced that it planned to open 22 stores in the following year, primarily in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, and in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, many of them being in buildings formerly occupied by defunct Circuit City, as part of an aggressive growth strategy to fill the gap created by Circuit City's bankruptcy. In December 2009, construction began on several stores in the central and eastern parts of

, the first in the state. March 2010 brought the openings of the first stores in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach metro area, in converted Circuit City and

Linens 'n Things Linens 'n Things was a Clifton, New Jersey-based big-box retailer specializing in home textiles, housewares, and decorative home accessories. The chain operated 571 stores in 47 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces, and had 7,300 employees as ...

locations. In Spring 2011, the company expanded into the

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

market with the opening of a store in the Youngstown suburb Boardman. Ten stores opened in July 2011 in South Florida along the east coast from

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

. In the fall of 2010, H. H. Gregg opened several stores in former Circuit City locations in Maryland and Virginia. Also, in late 2010, hhgregg partnered with The Cellular Connection, a

cellular phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while ...

wholesaler based out of Indianapolis, to roll out

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

s to sell

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...

products. In March 2011, H. H. Gregg announced it would open a new location in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

, also in the location of a defunct Circuit City. In June 2011, H. H. Gregg expanded into the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

market with the opening of four stores in the

Pittsburgh metropolitan area Greater Pittsburgh is a populous region centered around its largest city and economic hub, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The region encompasses Pittsburgh's urban core county, Allegheny, and six adjacent Pennsylvania counties: Armstrong, Beaver, ...

. On September 15, 2011, 14 new stores opened in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

area as well. In September 2012, H. H. Gregg opened four stores in the

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

metropolitan area. In August 2012, H. H. Gregg made its debut in

by opening stores in Appleton, Brown Deer, Greenfield, Green Bay, and

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

. In November 2012, it entered

with stores in the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

metropolitan area and in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

. The company's motto was "Gregg's Got It!", and their official mascot was an animated talking catalogue called HH, voiced by

Wally Wingert Wallace Eugene Wingert (born May 6, 1961) is an American voice actor. His roles include Almighty Tallest Red in ''Invader Zim'', Renji Abarai in ''Bleach'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger in '' Tiger & Bunny'', The Riddler in the '' Batman: ...

and bearing likeness to that of the video-game character

Rayman ''Rayman'' is a franchise of platform video games, created by video game designer Michel Ancel for Ubisoft. Since the release of the original '' Rayman'' game in 1995, the series has produced a total of 45 games across multiple platforms. The ...

. In February 2016, May resigned as CEO, and Robert Riesbeck was named interim CEO.Hhgregg CEO Dennis May Resigns
(Wall Street Journal) In August 2016, Riesbeck was named the permanent CEO. After a buyout offer fell through, Riesbeck was terminated along with CIO Tom Schuetz and Chief Merchandising Officer Aaron Trahan. Kevin Kovacs (CFO at the time) was named CEO and president effective June 7, 2017.

Bankruptcy

On March 6, 2017, H. H. Gregg filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing followed the closure of 88 unprofitable locations outside of its core markets. BML Investment Partners, L.P. acquired at least 7.5% of the company by January 26, 2017. On February 15, 2017 the company announced it was exploring "strategic alternatives", implicitly a sale of all or part of the business. On March 6, 2017, the bankrupt company filed for reorganization under Chapter 11. On March 16, 2017, the company announced that the sale had not been completed. On April 7, 2017, the Chapter 11 case was converted to Chapter 7 liquidation, and H.H. Gregg said it would close all 220 of its locations (the 88 stores previously announced to be closing, plus the other 132 locations) and lay off about 5,000 employees. All stores were closed permanently on May 25, 2017.

Sale of intellectual property

In June 2017, the H. H. Gregg

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

was purchased by Valor Group LLC for $400,000.Briggs, James (August 22, 2017).
HHGregg relaunches, sort of, promising 'grand opening'
. ''

Indy Star Indy may refer to: Computing and technology * Indy (software), used for Internet access to music * Internet Direct, or "Indy", a software library *SGI Indy, a computer workstation Periodicals *''The Indy'', shorthand for newspapers that include ...

''. Retrieved August 27, 2017. In August 2017, Valor Group LLC announced it would open an online business under the H. H. Gregg name. The online business operates out of

Somerset, New Jersey Somerset is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The new online store named H.H. Gregg is not affiliated with the company that went out of business. Customers have been told to contact the manufacturer directly for any issues with malfunctioning products sold by the former company. Extended warranties sold by the former company are being serviced by Warrantech. On September 5, 2019, Valor Group LLC opened its first H. H. Gregg storefront in Franklin Township, NJ. In 2022, however, it was reported that the store had shuttered.

Fine Lines

Fine Lines was a division of H. H. Gregg that was introduced November 1, 2004. Each of its ten stores offered over of premium lines of appliances. Products and brands varied by location. There were eleven Fine Lines locations.

Stock

H. H. Gregg had its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

on July 20, 2007, at US$13.72 and was traded on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

under the

ticker symbol A ticker symbol or stock symbol is an abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. In short, ticker symbols are arrangements of symbols or characters (generally Latin letters ...

HGG. On February 27, 2017, it was announced that the NYSE suspended trading of HGG in preparation for delisting. HGG shares were formally delisted on March 27, 2017, and became listed in

OTC Pink OTC Markets Group (previously known as Pink Sheets) is an American financial market providing price and liquidity information for almost 10,000 over-the-counter (OTC) securities. The group has its headquarters in New York City. OTC-traded sec ...

Sponsorship

On December 17, 2007, H. H. Gregg signed as one of 14 founding corporate partners for the

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium was ...

, home of the NFL's

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. H. H. Gregg's deal earned them rights to advertise in the south gate and display many of their large,

flat panel A flat-panel display (FPD) is an electronic display used to display visual content such as text or images. It is present in consumer, medical, transportation, and industrial equipment. Flat-panel displays are thin, lightweight, provide better l ...

televisions. The south gate was also home to a new H. H. Gregg

showroom A plumbing fixture showroom, Canada, 1921 A showroom, also referred to as a gallery, is a large space used to display products, entertainment or visual arts. Marketing location A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, suc ...

. From late 2016 until the company's closing, H. H. Gregg sponsored several drivers on the

Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...

team. They sponsored Carlos Muñoz and

Marco Andretti Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...

. They were slated to become the full-time sponsor of Andretti in 2017, and sponsored them at St. Petersburg. When the company closed, the team removed their logos on their cars, although the logo remained on the firesuits. When

Takuma Sato , nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...

won the 2017 Indianapolis 500, the company logos were still seen on the left breast of his firesuit though H. H. Gregg had closed three days prior to the race.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline
Official website
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Defunct companies based in Indianapolis Defunct retail companies of the United States American companies established in 1955 Retail companies established in 1955 Retail companies disestablished in 2017 American companies established in 2017 Retail companies established in 2017 Internet properties established in 2017 Consumer electronics retailers in the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017 Re-established companies 1955 establishments in Indiana 2017 disestablishments in Indiana