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New Electronics Source

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By MICHAEL SASSO

msasso@tampatrib.com

Published: February 12, 2009

LAKELAND - Just as Circuit City shuts down, a rival electronics retailer is preparing to enter the Tampa Bay area and challenge Best Buy.

The Indianapolis-based appliance and electronics chain HHGregg is finishing its first local store in the Market Square shopping center near Interstate 75 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in New Tampa.

It's scouting other potential store sites in the Bay area but has not yet committed to any new stores other than one in Sarasota. Its closest store now is in Lakeland.

For those used to gadget-heavy Best Buy and Circuit City, HHGregg might seem an odd mix of home goods and electronics. For example, the Lakeland store has a big selection of refrigerators, washer-dryer sets, vacuum cleaners, food processors and even mattresses.

But roughly half the store is devoted to tech gear, including two walls full of big-screen TVs, cameras, MP3 players and laptop computers. Unlike Best Buy, HHGregg does not sell CDs or DVDs.

The closure of Linens 'n Things and Circuit City is leaving gaping holes in many local shopping centers. So HHGregg should be able to snap up some good locations at below-market rent, said J.R. Dupell, a partner at the commercial real estate firm The Shopping Center Group, which helps Best Buy and other retailers find store spaces.
HHGregg does not have an opening date yet for its New Tampa store, said Jeff Pearson, vice president of marketing. It needs a certain number of stores in a market such as Tampa to make its advertising cost-effective, Pearson said, and HHGregg is deciding whether to open the New Tampa store soon or keep it dormant for a while until it has more local stores.

The company gets its name from its founders, H.H. and Fansy Gregg, who opened an appliance store in Indianapolis in 1955. Today, it has 108 stores across the Midwest and South, including 13 in North and Central Florida.

Tribune researcher Michael Messano contributed to this report.

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