Several of the empty Circuit City buildings are now occupied by HHGregg, which will create over 300 new retail jobs in Maryland.

According to WBALTV.com, appliance and electronics retailer HHGregg opened six stores on Thursday afternoon, and some said it’s a sign of an economic rebound.

“The Baltimore market, we feel, is right for our style of service,” said HHGregg Chief Executive Officer Dennis May.

One local economist said it is good timing. Last month, consumers spent more on electronics than in previous months.

“I believe this is a good time to enter the market. There’s a lot of opportunity for these firms, and I think households are wanting to spend money now. I think for the last few years, they’ve been beaten down with all the bad news … They’re looking to spend some money,” said economist Daraius Irani.

He said the placement of the stores will help.

HHGregg has been around for 55 years. The company is based in Indianapolis and is expanding east.

The new stores are located in Hanover, Annapolis, Catonsville, Bel Air, Towson and Glen Burnie.

“They’re going into some of the old stores, which have been somewhat of an eyesore for the past few years as they’ve remained vacant. So, I think it’s a good opportunity to fill those stores up and breathe some life into some areas that weren’t as lively,” Irani said.

Between the six stores, the company has created 300 new jobs in Maryland.

“They’re 300 jobs that we hope will develop into careers,” May said.

“I saw the ad they had and applied. It was wonderful because I got a phone call even before I finished the application,” said Abelardo Valencia, who lost his retail job in New York six months ago and moved back with his family in Anne Arundel County while searching for opportunities.

“For me, it’s all about customer service. You can learn the product, but you have to have that passion to really like to work with people,” he said.

Valencia said he hopes to work his way up in the company.

“The organization is growing, and that’s exactly the type of company you want to grow with. Anything with an opportunity — that’s what you look for,” he said.

The company said it hopes to open a location in Washington, D.C., in August.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 6th, 2010 at 11:24 pm and is filed under Retail. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.