H.h. gregg’s fiscal 2014 and beyond plans call for...

H.h. gregg’s fiscal 2014 and beyond plans call for a continued shift in product mix toward appliances and furniture and away from mainstream TVs, said CEO Dennis May during a presentation at the ICR XChange conference in Orlando. In fiscal 2010, h.h. gregg “was a consumer electronics company that sold appliances,” May said, but now “reshaping the sales mix” is a focus for the retailer, which operates 228 stores in 20 states east of the Mississippi. “H.h. gregg is going through a lot of changes around its sales mix, and we're focusing more and more on home product categories,” he said. Those include appliances and furniture -- where the retailer plans to expand from one to five lines next fiscal year -- and on large-screen TVs “where we can differentiate ourselves,” May said. TVs in the 60-inch and larger category are “more immune to commoditization,” he said. May referred to “shifting sands” within the CE category where “IT is becoming a larger portion and traditional consumer electronics is becoming a smaller portion.” He said CE is still an important business for h.h. gregg and will be more than a third of revenue when the fiscal year ends in March, but the role of the category is “evolving and changing.” Connected devices are part of h.h. gregg’s CE vision because they “empower the customer,” he said. “If it’s a stand-alone device and doesn’t connect to the consumer through multiple touch points, then that product is going to go by the wayside, and video is no different,” he said. In addition to smart TVs, other connected devices including tablets and smartphones are categories where h.h. gregg will continue to invest, he said.