Electronics retailer Hhgregg will close 40 percent of its stores as it works to stem the red ink and turn around slow sales.

The 88 store closings include Hhgregg's Schaumburg, Bloomingdale, Arlington Heights, Niles, Springfield and Champaign locations, the company said in a news release Thursday. The Indianapolis-based retailer is also closing three distribution centers in Maryland, Florida and Pennsylvania.

The retailer has 12 other stores in Illinois.

Hhgregg President and CEO Robert Riesbeck said the closing stores are unprofitable or located in areas that are no longer shopping destinations.

"We feel strongly that the markets we will remain in are the right ones for our customers and our business model. Our team is dedicated to moving forward and being a profitable 132 store, multiregional chain where we will continue to be a dominant force in appliances, electronics and home furnishings," he said.

The 88 stores are expected to close by mid-April, eliminating about 1,500 jobs, Hhgregg said.

Hhgregg said last month it hired a financial adviser and investment banker to pursue a range of potential strategic and financial transactions to help it find ways to get back to profitability.

PHOTOS: From coast to coast, American retailers, stung by the rise of online shopping, are abandoning brick-and-mortar stores, annoucning closing after closing.

The announcement came a month after Hhgregg reported a 22 percent drop in sales at stores open at least 14 months — mostly due to weak consumer electronics sales — during the quarter that ended in December.

Bloomberg reported the chain is preparing to file for bankruptcy as soon as this month.

lzumbach@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @laurenzumbach

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