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HHGregg Inc. always has cast itself as a purveyor of premium products. That's great if you have the means to purchase big-ticket items. But a vast swath of the American consumer does not.
The Indianapolis-based appliance and electronics retailer is quietly making a fundamental shift to cast its net more widely - starting with stepped-up promotion of its private-label credit card.
That card, offered through GE Capital with an annual rate of 29.99 percent, can take it only so far - given that one-third of its applicants get rejected.
So HHGregg is racing to put together credit options for customers with spottier credit. And it also has rolled out rent-to-own, an option it now offers in more than half of its 228 stores.
It's a dicey business to lend money to people with credit problems. But HHGregg is not the party taking the risk. All those offerings are...