Appliance and electronics retailer hhgregg Inc. (HGG) recently hired Robert J. Riesbeck as its new chief financial officer (CFO). With 25 years of experience in financial and operational management, Riesbeck was one of the strong contenders for the position. Currently, he works as operations executive/group CFO at Sun Capital Partners where he was responsible for managing a diverse group of portfolio companies. Prior to this, Riesbeck held CFO positions at many units including Marsh Supermarkets, a Sun Capital portfolio company, American Golf Corporation and a business-unit of Nike, Inc. (NKE). Riesbeck will assume his new role at hhgregg from Sep 15.
hhgregg is leaving no stone unturned to revive its struggling business. Initiatives such as product innovation, focus on developing brands and exit from underperforming businesses are some of the measures being taken to boost sales. Riesbeck’s experience is expected to help the company execute its initiatives. Earlier in May, hhgregg appointed Troy H. Risch as its new chief operating officer. (Read: hhgregg Hires New COO).
hhgregg has been disappointing its investors over the past one year with sluggish results, particularly due to its consumer electronic category. Revenues or growth in the category has declined due to lower-than-expected margins and declining industry demand for flat screen televisions. Weak promotional activities are also adding to its woes. In addition, lack of innovation in televisions has been severely impacting overall store traffic.
The company also witnessed sluggishness in same-store sales in the computing and wireless category in the last five quarters. The company’s home products category is also showing signs of weakness.
hhgregg also did not provide guidance for fiscal 2015 as the company is working on its strategic initiatives. It is under pressure owing to continued volatility within the consumer electronics industry.
The company has employed different initiatives to revive its business. Though it is focusing on its appliance category and not relying much on consumer electronics and computing and wireless categories, we still remain bearish until we see substantial improvement in these categories. hhgregg holds a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Better-ranked retailers include Citi Trends, Inc. (CTRN) and Foot Locker, Inc (FL). While Citi Trends sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Foot Locker holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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