JUNE 8-14, 2015
HHGregg Inc. has tried for four years to reverse sliding sales. Now it’s ready to take drastic measures. In this week’s IBJ, Scott Olson reports that Gregg plans to cut costs by $50 million—and inventory by another $50 million. Also this week, Jared Council takes stock of the new services promising to deliver restaurant meals to your door. And in A&E Etc., Lou Harry has high praise for Nourish on the near-south side.
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Services proliferate that provide to-your-door restaurant delivery
The online ordering and delivery sector in and around Indianapolis is on the rise, with several firms either setting up shop or expanding here, hoping to capitalize on restaurant and consumer demand.
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Suburbs paying for new census in hopes of higher tax distributions
A fast-growing city like Fishers can add thousands of new residents in just a few years. But several state funding allocations are based on population numbers the U.S. Census Bureau collects only once a decade, which could grossly underestimate the city’s density.
Read MoreImmigrant’s new PAC urges Asians toward politics
Raju Chinthala, a Carmel resident, is on a mission to get Asian-Americans registered to vote and eventually running for office. He formed the Asian-American Indiana PAC to support candidates from either party.
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After long sales slide, HHGregg cuts ad spending, inventory
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.
Read MoreTech firm Bookacoach calls audible on business plan
Company officers are pleased so far with a bold decision last fall to ditch the consumer marketplace entirely and instead start selling software that helps sports academies run their businesses.
Read MoreAfter swoon, Lilly Endowment climbs back over $10B
Assets in 2014 rose from $7.7 billion to $10.1 billion, a 31-percent surge. The value of the endowment now has nearly doubled since closing 2010 at $5.3 billion.
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Health insurers request modest rate hikes
While health insurers in states around the country have proposed large rate increases for the health plans they sell on the Obamacare exchanges, insurers in Indiana are asking for modest increases or even decreases. The bad news is that it appears the rest of the country is just catching up with Indiana’s already-high prices.
Read MoreIndy Chamber starts new benefits plan for small firms
The organization has come up with a new way to help its small-business members while giving them a better deal on employee benefits.
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Deal to redevelop Tinker Flats building falls through
King Park Development Corp. is pursuing another developer to rehab the building on East 16th Street after a Noblesville firm pulled out of a deal to convert part of it into a hub for food-and-beverage startups.
Read MoreTaft bolsters IP practice by snatching 10 lawyers from rival
In one fell swoop, the law firm more than doubled the size of its intellectual property team with the additions it scored from Krieg DeVault. The move could bring as much as $10 million in annual revenue to Taft.
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Northern communities identify gateways for aesthetic improvements
The northern Indianapolis suburbs are struggling to improve their doorsteps despite tight budgets, right-of-way acquisition obstacles and fickle public tastes.
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MAURER: Creation Museum pleasant, but …
Those who disregard science shouldn’t be trusted to lead us.
Read MoreRand Paul’s words show his folly
Most Republicans didn’t need convincing that our 2016 presidential nominee shouldn’t be Sen. Rand Paul. But if doubt remained, Paul’s performance during the recent debate on Patriot Act extension eliminated it. Whatever one’s views on the debate’s underlying merits, Paul’s contributions spoke volumes about the judgment and character of the Kentucky ophthalmologist-turned-politician. Start with his […]
Read MoreHETRICK: For bicentennial, bring on good, bad, ugly
The Hoosier cynic in me said that what Indiana needs to do over the next half century is catch up with things the rest of the world accomplished 50 years ago—things like local government reform, competitive-with-the-nation wages that can support families, antidiscrimination laws that provide equal protection for all of our citizens, and protection of our state’s reputation from standup comedians and seven-figure PR firms.
Read MoreRACE: Vision and leadership help make great cities
The next mayor should make planning an inclusive process.
Read MoreKIM: ‘Shoot first’ trading mentality dangerous to financial health
High-frequency” trading firms spend billions in a high-stakes arms race to gain a millisecond’s edge on executions. But while speed may be valuable to traders, it can be extremely detrimental to investors.
Read MoreBOHANON & STYRING: Why ‘free trade’ is almost always a good thing
At least since the time of Adam Smith, economists have recognized that specialization and trade are the keys to prosperity. And at least since that time, economists have had a hard time explaining why this is true.
Read MoreCommon wage repeal will harm tax collections
Peter Rusthoven’s praise over the repeal of Indiana’s common construction wage law [May 11 Taking Issue] should have been characterized as praise for creating more low-income Hoosiers, as that was the intended goal of this new law.
Read MoreFounding Fathers indeed referred to the Creator
Sheila Kennedy [May 18 Taking Issue] asserts that, 150 years after the Pilgrims landed with their “Puritan” ideas, the founding fathers wrote a Constitution which makes no reference to God or divine providence.
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Limbaugh show lands at new iHeartMedia station
The Rush Limbaugh Show—set to be dropped by WIBC-FM 93.1 next month—will continue to be heard on Indianapolis radio airwaves without interruption after being picked up by iHeartMedia Inc.
Read MoreIndy Eleven fire head coach, director of soccer operations
Juergen Sommer, a former U.S. National Team goalkeeper, Indiana University All-American and graduate of Culver Military Academy, has been with the team since its inception in 2013.
Read MoreFair Finance trustee reaches $3M settlement with National Lampoon
The deal would resolve a 2011 lawsuit accusing former Indianapolis businessman Tim Durham of using Fair Finance funds to prop up National Lampoon. He is a former CEO of both companies.
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