Gregg Appliances Inc. has agreed to buy nine Sun Television and Appliances stores being closed as part of Sun's financial collapse, the companies announced Thursday.
Four of the stores are in Cincinnati and one each in Hamilton; Florence and Alexandria, Ky.; and Aurora and Richmond, Ind. The Richmond store never opened as a Sun outlet.
Gregg, based in Indianapolis, will pay $8.7 million and assume some liabilities. The deal is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and Sun's creditors.
Gregg, which sells electronics, major appliances and computers, will close the stores and reopen them as H.H. Gregg stores by the end of January. Sun employees will be considered for the 400 jobs at the stores.
Sun, an electronic retailing chain based in Groveport near Columbus, closed 29 of its 59 stores after it filed for bankruptcy protection Sept. 16. Nov. 2, it decided to close the other stores. Gregg has 18 stores in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Ohio Lottery buys system from Interlott
Interlott Technologies Inc., the Blue Ash supplier of instant lottery vending machines, has won a contract for an information management system from the Ohio Lottery Commission.
Interlott said it couldn't disclose the value of the agreement, which calls for the company to monitor sales at 1,500 vending machines and supply the Ohio Lottery with a weekly report. The company said it hopes to market the Automated Communications System to the almost two dozen other states where it supplies instant lottery vending machines.
Tax credits advised for expansions in city
The city of Cincinnati administration has recommended council approval of job creation tax credits for two projects:
- Cole + Russell Architects, which would retain 67 employees and expand by at least 40 within three years. The firm wants to relocate to the Midland Building on Pete Rose Way from 2368 Victory Parkway. The Ohio Job Creation Tax Authority has approved a 55 percent tax credit for seven years, subject to approval of a local credit by the city. The city income tax credits would amount to $18,480 a year, or $112,270 during the next seven years. The net city income tax revenue would be $71,400 a year, or $485,810 for the seven year period.
- Widmer's Inc., for a planned $2.3 million expansion at its existing dry cleaning plant at 2016 Madison Road. The project will retain 140 jobs and create 30 over three years. The Ohio Job Creation Tax Authority has approved a 55 percent tax credit for seven years, subject to approval of a local credit by the city. The city income tax credits would be $8,648 a year or $60,534 for the seven-year period. The net revenue to the city would be $78,954 a year or $624,559 for seven years.
Ohio plant will close; work moves to Mexico
Crompton & Knowles Corp. said it will shut its Painesville, Ohio, rubber chemicals plant and cut 125 jobs by mid-1999 as it moves production from the plant into a joint venture with Mexico's Desc SA de CV.
Crompton & Knowles, a specialty chemicals maker with annual sales of $1.85 billion, said it would take a fourth-quarter pretax charge of about $30 million for the job cuts at its Uniroyal Chemical Co. unit. Production will move to a plant being built in Altamira, Mexico.
