As hhgregg closes its doors, customers clamor to check out sales

Signs adorning the front doors of the hhgregg on 14th Street West made the message clear; the store was closing and everything inside was on sale.

Inside the store Saturday afternoon, a few customers meandered through the aisles, looking at appliances, electronics and furnishings marked down up to 30 percent off. Signs throughout the store reminded customers that all sales were final.

Just the day before, the Indianapolis-based consumer electronics chain announced it was going out of business after it couldn’t find a buyer, and will liquidate its assets, according to the Associated Press.

The company announced its bankruptcy protection filing last month and said it planned to close more than 80 stores and three distribution centers in attempts to make trims.

The retailer had 220 stores in 19 states and employed about 5,000 people as of May 2016.

Tracy Jordan, a loyal hhgregg customer who purchased one last piece of furniture from the store Saturday, said she wonders what the employees will do.

Jordan said she shopped at the hhgregg often, and was sad to see it closing. She thought they had fair prices and good customer service, especially at the 14th Street West location.

Now, she said, she will likely look to purchase items she would have bought from hhgregg at places like Lowes and Home Depot.

But not everyone who stopped in to check out sale prices Saturday agreed. Three other people the Herald spoke to said they don’t typically shop at hhgregg because they feel the store’s merchandise is overpriced but stopped in Saturday to see how much prices had been cut. One customer said they were not impressed.

Several left empty handed. But in about an hour, at least two large appliances were loaded into waiting vehicles, and Jordan drove away with a new piece of furniture for her home.

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 5:37 PM with the headline "As hhgregg closes its doors, customers clamor to check out sales."