Struggling retailer hhgregg Inc. will close 11 stores and a distribution center in South Florida to stem its losses.
The Indianapolis-based retailer of household appliances and electronics will close its distribution center in Miami and stores in Aventura, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Homestead, Kendall, Pembroke Pines, Pinecrest, Plantation, Wellington and West Palm Beach. The company also plans to close Florida stores in Gainesville, Jensen Beach, Orlando and Pensacola.
The 15 stores in Florida are among 88 nationwide that hhgregg expects to close by mid-April, putting 1,500 employees out of work. The closures will reduce the number of hhgregg stores to 132.
“We are strategically exiting markets and stores that are not financially profitable for us,” Robert J. Riesbeck, president and CEO of hhgregg, said in a prepared statement.
Reuters News reported last week that hhgregg might file for bankruptcy. The publicly held company suffered a net loss of $83.8 million in the nine months ended Dec. 31 on top of net totaling $187.5 million in its last two fiscal years.