Electronics retailer hhgregg has opened its first new brick-and-mortar location, in Somerset, N.J., more than two years after filing for bankruptcy and closing all its stores in 2017. The retailer’s intellectual property was purchased by Valor Group, which reopened hhgregg as a pure-play e-Commerce company several months after it shut down.
The new physical space will capitalize on the fact that many shoppers want to try electronics before they buy, according to Valor Group. At just under 2,000 square feet, the shop also is smaller than traditional hhgregg stores, making it a better fit for modern brick-and-mortar strategies.
“We’re very aware of retail trends and the emerging strategy of a smaller physical location,” said Eli Sapharti, Director of Retail Operations at Valor Group. “Combining market trends with our own analysis of 25 million hhgregg customer records, we recognized this is the most effective way to keep providing consumers with the same service and trusted name that hhgregg built since its founding in 1955.”
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Prior to its bankruptcy, hhgregg peaked at 228 stores in 20 states, up from 91 stores in nine states in 2008. The retailer’s current owner attributes its demise to unsustainable growth, and plans to expand in a more controlled manner in the future.
