Indianapolis-based hhgregg opened their new Short Pump Town Center store last Thursday in the building that formerly housed Circuit City. The store is currently in a soft opening phase, with grand opening to take on Thursday.
The store looks very different from its former days. The entire warehouse-style building was gutted, re-floored and a drop ceiling was added to the entire length of the back wall. On one side you’ll find your typical consumer electronics offerings and on the other you’ll see an array of different appliances, from washers and dryers to refrigerators and small kitchen electrics.
I found hhgregg to be relatively bare and empty on my visit. Though some inventory had yet to be delivered before the grand opening, there’s a striking lack of shelving and incredibly wide aisles, unlike the tightly-packed merchandise that lined the aisles when it was a Circuit City. The company claims that shelving no higher than eye level and wide aisles are part of their strategy to maintain an open airiness in their stores. hhgregg also doesn’t sell CDs or DVDs — unlike its competitor Best Buy (and Circuit City, when it was still alive) Employees are paid commission.
The retailer started as small appliance shop in 1955. It is still operated by the Gregg family and today has 112 stores located throughout the South and parts of the Midwest.
A second Richmond location is opening in the Hancock Village shopping center in Chesterfield.
Trevor Dickerson is the editor of DowntownShortPump.com, which is an RBS news partner.
