Past Winner Stories
hhgregg Appliances & Electronics
www.hhgregg.com
The growth in television screens from the 19-inch family black-and-white to the 72-inch in today’s home theater is a good example of the kind of growth Indianapolis appliance and electronics retailer hhgregg has experienced, only its transformation has been at a more accelerated pace. Along the way, the company has faced challenges that revolve around three core issues: transitioning from a small supplier to a regional retailer, maintaining the corporate culture necessary to make that jump, and achieving those things in an industry where the commoditization life cycle continues to shorten.
CEO and Chairman Jerry Throgmartin explains, “Transitioning from a small, four-store company to a large, multiunit chain creates challenges in virtually every area. Supply chain management becomes important before you even know what it means. How to buy, move and control inventory has to go from very basic to relatively sophisticated overnight. Advertising must be more aggressive, and training that was once a natural evolution through experience has to be formulated, consistent, focused and structured to insure execution during growth.
“Human resources evolve from a simple payroll department, and IT becomes a department constantly developing instead of a single individual who keeps the computer running. Since the early 1980s, that’s the transition with which we’ve been racing to keep pace.”
Throgmartin understands the linchpin in this process is his people and cites the company’s major challenge through continuing growth as the preservation of the cultures and values that drive that transformation. He recognizes that many people feel less important when companies grow, unable to see that the company did not lose the virtues and priorities it has always had.
To prevent that breakdown, hhgregg refined its training programs and hiring practices. The company focused on getting the right people and then making sure they received the right education to ensure their success. At the top management level, all decisions centered on the customer and the employees in the knowledge that, if the company took good care of both, the company would prevail.
As the transition began, the company looked to other templates and sought solutions it could duplicate in its human resources initiatives, supply chain strategies, management development plans and promotional programs. “The key here was not the strategy in and of itself,” Throgmartin says. “The keys were clearly communicating the plan, executing the plan and listening to bottom up feedback to alter and refine the plan. Obviously, for this to take place, we depend on people who are committed.”
In addition to the internal challenges growth creates, hhgregg also faced a challenge shared by all electronics retailers. As products move from introduction to mass acceptance to commodity, the top of that curve is the sweet spot where the product is still profitable, still new enough to need explanation and yet can still be sold in volume. Because the product evolution curve was becoming shorter and shorter, hhgregg depended on a steady stream of new introductions, yet still relied on a strategy that put customer service first. With a full-service format and customer satisfaction focus, the company has proven to be effective in the areas it chooses to dominate.
Throgmartin sums up the company’s successful transition saying, “In the end, good people develop good strategies. They implement, they execute and they adjust. Most of all they care. Good companies care for their employees, providing a good, stable, reliable place for people to entrust their careers and their families’ well being. As long as we can do that, we can stay in the fight.”
CEO and Chairman Jerry Throgmartin explains, “Transitioning from a small, four-store company to a large, multiunit chain creates challenges in virtually every area. Supply chain management becomes important before you even know what it means. How to buy, move and control inventory has to go from very basic to relatively sophisticated overnight. Advertising must be more aggressive, and training that was once a natural evolution through experience has to be formulated, consistent, focused and structured to insure execution during growth.
“Human resources evolve from a simple payroll department, and IT becomes a department constantly developing instead of a single individual who keeps the computer running. Since the early 1980s, that’s the transition with which we’ve been racing to keep pace.”
Throgmartin understands the linchpin in this process is his people and cites the company’s major challenge through continuing growth as the preservation of the cultures and values that drive that transformation. He recognizes that many people feel less important when companies grow, unable to see that the company did not lose the virtues and priorities it has always had.
To prevent that breakdown, hhgregg refined its training programs and hiring practices. The company focused on getting the right people and then making sure they received the right education to ensure their success. At the top management level, all decisions centered on the customer and the employees in the knowledge that, if the company took good care of both, the company would prevail.
As the transition began, the company looked to other templates and sought solutions it could duplicate in its human resources initiatives, supply chain strategies, management development plans and promotional programs. “The key here was not the strategy in and of itself,” Throgmartin says. “The keys were clearly communicating the plan, executing the plan and listening to bottom up feedback to alter and refine the plan. Obviously, for this to take place, we depend on people who are committed.”
In addition to the internal challenges growth creates, hhgregg also faced a challenge shared by all electronics retailers. As products move from introduction to mass acceptance to commodity, the top of that curve is the sweet spot where the product is still profitable, still new enough to need explanation and yet can still be sold in volume. Because the product evolution curve was becoming shorter and shorter, hhgregg depended on a steady stream of new introductions, yet still relied on a strategy that put customer service first. With a full-service format and customer satisfaction focus, the company has proven to be effective in the areas it chooses to dominate.
Throgmartin sums up the company’s successful transition saying, “In the end, good people develop good strategies. They implement, they execute and they adjust. Most of all they care. Good companies care for their employees, providing a good, stable, reliable place for people to entrust their careers and their families’ well being. As long as we can do that, we can stay in the fight.”