Business & Tech

hhgregg Opens Softly at Gravois Bluffs

Home appliance and consumer electronics store in Fenton is one of four to open in the St. Louis area

The store is open, the goods are on display and the staff is ready to go at hhgregg, 101 Gravois Bluffs Plaza Drive, site of the former Linens n' Things store.

With 212 stores around the country, hhgregg staffers may be used to launching new locations, but there are a couple of new wrinkles at its newest stores in the St. Louis area. For the first time, hhgregg will be offering furniture and exercise equipment as part of its mix of flat panel televisions, home theater systems, computers, camcorders, Blu-Ray players, and home appliances, including washers and dryers, refrigerators, cooking ranges, dishwashers, freezers and air conditioners.

The furniture inclusion in hhgregg's line of production was a natural addition to the flat panel televisions and home theater systems that already are being sold in the store, according to regional manager Blake Walker.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Walker provided a brief tour of the hhgregg store in Fenton Wednesday, explaining the company's philosophy of wide open spaces and a welcoming environment for shoppers who come in. And, fortunately for the sales staff that was in place Wednesday, there were some shoppers walking in to see what the store was all about, and, according to one sales associate, they were buying.

There will be a bigger grand opening with all kinds of hoopla sometime in the next couple of weeks, Walker said. For now, it's just a "soft" opening, giving the staff some time to get used to its new surroundings and for customers to get used to hhgregg's offerings. hhgregg also has opened stores in Chesterfield, St. Peters and Fairview Heights, IL.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Th new stores are part of a company-wide expansion, with an anticipted 20-25 new stores to open in the coming fiscal year. The growth primarily will be in the Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee markets.

hhgregg has come a long way since 1955 since it was founded by H.H. and Fansy Gregg, who opened a small appliance store in Indianapolis. The first store carried washing machines, clothes dryers, refrigerators and outdoor grills. But soon after opening, black and white and color televisions were offered, along with other electronic products.

Walker says there are more than 500 products on display in the roomy, well-lit store, with more than 100 models of flat screen televisions and more than 350 models of brand name appliances, including refrigerator, kitchn ranges ans washers and dryers. wome of the merchandise is set up in small displays so customers  can get an idea "of what it would look like in their home," Walker said.

The secret to hhgregg's success, according to Walker, is personal, caring customer service.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Fenton-High Ridge