The CEO of the appliance and consumer-electronics retailer believes the chain can make headway in an already competitive market.

Two retailers are expected to open within a day of each other this month. Appliance and consumer electronics retailer hhgregg is scheduled to open its two area stores Nov. 19 while outdoor gear and clothing retailer Recreational Equipment Inc. (known as REI) is scheduled to open Nov. 20. Both are new to Richmond’s retail landscape.

Appliance and electronics retailer hhgregg Inc. has tapped some former Circuit City managers to run the two Richmond-area stores the Indianapolis-based retailer plans to open next month. Now hhgregg is looking to take advantage of other talent left behind when Circuit City Stores Inc. closed in March. “There is no question that there is a really talented base of former Circuit City employees in this area that we hope to capitalize on,“ said Andrew Eaton, a regional manager for hhgregg who worked for the now-defunct Henrico County-based electronics retailer for 13 years.

As it looks to take its work to a global level, architecture and design firm Odell Associates has turned to designer Roger Soto. “I want to create a fresh new direction [at Odell]. To do work that’s recognized by the design and architecture world,“ said Soto, who is leading the effort from the firm’s Richmond office. Odell is based in Charlotte, N.C., and has offices in three other cities, including ones in the Lucky Strike power plant building in Tobacco Row in Richmond. The firm completely gutted and renovated the old plant, turning it into a state of the art office.

Consumer electronics and appliance retailer hhgregg sees Richmond and other markets in Virginia as key to its growth strategy. “Richmond is an important market for us as we expand into the mid-Atlantic,“ said Jeff Pearson, the chain’s vice president of marketing. The Indianapolis-based retailer will open two stores—in former Circuit City locations at Short Pump Town Center in Henrico County and near Chesterfield Towne Center in Chesterfield County—by Thanksgiving, he confirmed yesterday.

Work has begun to transform two former Circuit City stores in the Richmond area into locations for consumer-electronics and appliance retailer hhgregg. Indianapolis-based hhgregg will open two stores by Thanksgiving.

While the economy has taken its toll on some area businesses, one local retailer is expanding because of the downturn. Norma Santamaria, who owns Baggio on Gayton Road near Quioccasin Road in Henrico County, has moved her store to accommodate the increase in traffic and inventory she’s seen since the economy began to sour last year. Baggio is a consignment shop that deals in high-end women’s clothing, bags, shoes and jewelry.

hhgregg, a fast-growing regional consumer electronics retailer plans to open multiple stores in the Richmond area this year, likely taking over some former Circuit City locations.

In these tough times, most companies are slowing their growth as they wait for sales to pick up. But one Richmond-based retailer is among the handful that is actually expanding. Pleasants Hardware, which traces its roots in the Richmond area back to 1915, has opened its eighth store. “We saw this as a good time and a good opportunity for us,“ said James T. Hatcher III, Pleasants’ president, adding that the economic downturn actually helped in this case.

Steve Samuel is mad as hell and he wants to let everyone know. Samuel, founder of Graphics Gallery in Henrico County, is frustrated and fed up with all the negative talk about the economy. “There’s tons of doom and gloom in business and in your personal life, but you can’t let it get you down,“ he said. To combat the negativity—and help boost sales—Samuel created a sign that his salespeople are passing out to clients and Graphics Gallery is giving away.