HHGregg store closures to hit Middle Georgia

A national appliance and electronics retailer with a store in Macon is joining other major chains in closing stores.

HHGregg announced it was beginning the process of closing all its stores as of Saturday.

A manager at the Macon store at 4551 Billy Williamson Drive in Eisenhower Crossing Annex declined to speak to a Telegraph reporter. It is unclear how many employees work at the store and when the store is expected to close.

The company opened the 30,700-square-foot Macon store in October 2006, and at the time it had about 35 workers.

“Since filing for financial protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code on March 6, 2017, we have continued to fight for the future of our company,” President/CEO Bob Riesbeck said in a release. “While we had discussions with more than 50 private equity firms, strategic buyers, and other investors, unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our plan to secure a viable buyer of the business on a going-concern basis within the expedited timeline set by our creditors.”

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection March 6.

“The company does not anticipate any value will remain from the bankruptcy estate for the holders of the company’s common stock,” the release said.

The company has an agreement with Tiger Capital Group LLC and Great American Group LLC to sell the merchandise and furniture, fixtures and equipment located at the company’s retail stores and distribution centers.

The Indianapolis-based company was founded in 1955 and has 220 stores in 19 states. In August 2016, when Riesbeck was named permanent CEO, the company announced in an SEC filing that he would earn a base salary of $700,000 and that he could earn an annual bonus of up to $700,000 based on company and personal performance.

This story was originally published April 10, 2017 at 12:35 PM with the headline "HHGregg store closures to hit Middle Georgia."