The 62-year-old company is joining the trash heap of failed appliance and electronics retailers, done in by a long list of problems—including overexpansion and a collapse in sales of consumer electronics.
Three major Indianapolis-based retailers struggling with declining sales replaced their CEOs this year as they tried to improve company financials.
Dennis May, who left HHGregg Inc. in February after nearly seven years as CEO of the retail chain, has a taken a new job at a health care company that has plans for regional growth.
Robert Riesbeck, the company’s chief financial officer, has served as the struggling retailer’s CEO on a temporary basis since February but wants the title to become permanent.
After all the turmoil, investors are eager for signs that interim CEO Robert Riesbeck is righting the ship.
The Indianapolis-based appliance and electronics retailer, which has seen its sales plummet in recent years, named Chief Financial Officer Robert Riesbeck as interim CEO. May had been with the company since 1999.
Indiana’s publicly traded retailers are hoping a strong shopping season will allow them to finish with a flourish after a bruising 2015.
Dennis May has been at the helm of the electronics and appliance retailer since 2010 and has seen sales of televisions swoon. But expanding into furniture and high-end appliances might help right the ship.
HHGregg Inc. has tried for four years to reverse sliding sales. That hasn’t worked, and now executives have turned their focus to slashing expenses in a quest to return to profitability next year.
The company scarfed up $49 million of its stock under a buyback program that ran from May 2013 to May 2014. And last month, the company launched a new buyback program, this one for $40 million.
The Indianapolis-based appliance and electronics retailer’s stock hit a sort of milestone Tuesday, closing above $18 for the first time since early 2011.
CEO Dennis May said: "We see the HHGregg of the future as a home products store that also sells consumer electronics."
Company officials think HHGregg is well-positioned to fill the void that Circuit City Stores Inc. will leave when its stores are closed.
