hhgregg to Liquidate Assets
[Never a big player in audio beyond the HTIB (home theater in a box) segment, Gregg is yet another once-sizable CE chain biting the dust. It is a sad fact of bankruptcy and shut-downs that before they bring closure, there is chaos; for the last year or so the chain has trotted out salvation plans and potential suitors—but as in the case of Radio Shack, it was all to no avail. Ultimately, there is confusion even regarding the number of stores closing: while the press-release mentions 220, the sales flyer mentions 132, and other materials cite 183. Sad to say, at this point, probably no one cares.—Ed.]
INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–hhgregg, Inc. (“hhgregg” or the “Company”) today announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana approved the Company’s initiation of the process to liquidate the assets of the Company commencing on April 8, 2017. As previously announced, hhgregg executed a consulting agreement with a contractual joint venture comprised of Tiger Capital Group, LLC and Great American Group, LLC to conduct a sale of the merchandise and furniture, fixtures and equipment located at the Company’s retail stores and distribution centers.
“Since filing for financial protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy code on March 6, 2017, we have continued to fight for the future of our company. While we had discussions with more than 50 private equity firms, strategic buyers, and other investors, unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our plan to secure a viable buyer of the business on a going-concern basis within the expedited timeline set by our creditors. We have, however, received and accepted a bid for liquidation of our assets. This process will begin Saturday, April 8, 2017,” said Bob Riesbeck, President and Chief Executive Officer for hhgregg.
The Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 6, 2017. The Company does not anticipate any value will remain from the bankruptcy estate for the holders of the Company’s common stock, although this will be determined in the continuing bankruptcy proceedings.
About hhgregg
hhgregg is an appliance, electronics and furniture retailer that is committed to providing customers with a truly differentiated purchase experience through superior customer service, knowledgeable sales associates and the highest quality product selections. Founded in 1955, hhgregg is a multi-regional retailer currently with 220 stores in 19 states that also offers market-leading global and local brands at value prices nationwide via hhgregg.com.
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Next-Generation Personal Music Server – BRIO by OraStream
[Ask almost any audio pro or audiophile about Neil Young’s Kickstarter campaign for Pono, and you’ll likely receive rolled eyes as a response. Given that, and Pono’s subsequent utter lack of market impact, the choice of Young as an endorser for the awkwardly-named OraStream is a little tough to understand. It’ll be interesting to follow this new player in the streaming world. —Ed.]
OraStream announces launch of BRIO – world’s first personal music streaming server for high-resolution audio
Singapore, SINGAPORE, April 12, 2017 – OraStream Private Limited has launched BRIO by OraStream (“BRIO”), a next-generation consumer music server. BRIO is a novel personal music server for consumers to stream music at native resolution. It lets users stream 16bit/44kHz up to 24bit/192kHz resolution audio, which delivers all the digital information to bring true musical reproduction.
Consumers can choose from three levels of service:
1. Standard plan is free of charge. It turns desktop PCs into home servers which allow consumers to access music stored in their PCs remotely at native resolution, using a web browser on another PC. It also gives consumers access to connected streaming services.
2. Mobile plan costs S$15 per year. It allows consumers to use an iOS and Android app to access the PC server and connected streaming services using Wi-Fi or 4G/LTE networks.
3. Cloud plan costs S$150 per year. It allows consumers to upload up to 1,000 GB of music files to cloud storage and stream the music from a cloud-server (rather than relying on the PC server). It also includes all the Standard and Mobile Plan features.
BRIO streams the best possible music fidelity at any given time and place by means of OraStream’s patented quality-adaptive streaming technology. OraStream will also power Xstream, Neil Young’s streaming music service.
Celebrated singer-songwriter Neil Young, who has passionately pursued the goal of musical fidelity for many years, says, “OraStream’s technology delivers the best fidelity one would ever hear with digital music streaming today. As bandwidth increases, the music will increase in quality to the highest level possible, subject only to the quality of the original music source.”
OraStream CEO Frankie Tan says, “There are many solutions available to stream consumers’ music library in-home. What’s unique in BRIO is the ability to stream consumers’ music library remotely “on-the-go” or “in-car”. It offers the freedom to listen to one’s music library at native resolution anywhere with an internet connection.”
About OraStream Private Limited
The company’s mission is to reshape mobile cloud music. Its adaptive streaming platform powers next-generation music streaming based on 16/24-bit resolution lossless audio. OraStream Connect is a digital supply chain to deliver music streaming at the best possible musical fidelity to consumers. BRIO by OraStream is a music library-player and streaming server to stream personal music and connected cloud-music services at native resolution.
