Hhgregg opening stores. Yes, you read that right

Updated

Think it's all doom and gloom, with stores closing and people out of work? Well here's something to cheer, electronics retailer hhgregg Inc. is accelerating expansion and plans to open roughly 65 new stores by the end of next year.

For those unfamiliar, hhgregg is a regional chain with 112 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee. The expansion is planned for the Mid-Atlantic region, and includes a new distribution center. And, according the company, these leases have already been signed.

The product selection is typical of a big box electronics store, except where Circuit City and Tweeter failed, hhgregg seems posed to prosper. Especially since it can take advantage of those failures.

Well managed and successful retailers seem few and far between these days, but they do exist. These are the businesses with the money and credit ratings to open more stores when everyone else is closing, or putting a hold on spending. They didn't go crazy and overextend themselves during prosperous times.

Hhgregg's Chief Operating Officer Dennis May says it best in a company press release, "We have an extraordinary opportunity to gain market share by taking advantage of the current rental rates and excess availability in the real estate market."

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Stores Closing Their Doors

While Hhgregg is busy opening more stores, other retailers are cutting back. Click through this gallery for a list of stores closing their doors.

Carolyn Kaster, AP

Carolyn Kaster, AP

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