MANSFIELD — The Ontario hhgregg store on Lexington-Springmill Roadis one of 88 stores the appliance and electronics retailer will be closing in an effort to turnaround the struggling chain’s fortunes.
In a press release Thursday, the chain announced the store closures along with the closing of three distribution centers. More than 1,500 jobs will be cut.
“We are strategically exiting markets and stores that are not financially profitable for us,” said Robert J. Riesbeck, hhgregg’s President and CEO, in a press release. “This is a proactive decision to streamline our store footprint in the markets where we have been, and will continue to be, important to our customers, vendor partners and communities. We feel strongly that the markets we will remain in are the right ones for our customers and our business model. Our team is dedicated to moving forward and being a profitable 132 store, multi-regional chain where we will continue to be a dominant force in appliances, electronics and home furnishings.”
Current inventory in the affected stores will be sold over the coming weeks, with final closings expected to be complete by mid-April.
“The management team has worked tirelessly over the past year to return hhgregg to profitability,” continued Riesbeck. “We have determined that the economics of the affected locations will not allow us to achieve our overall goal of becoming a profitable company again. After scrutinizing our real estate portfolio, we have identified a number of underperforming stores, as well as store locations that are no longer strong shopping destinations due to changes in the local retail shopping landscape.”
In the fiscal third quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2016, net sales for the chain decreased 22 percent compared to the prior year third quarter.
