Efirds Interiors, an interior furnishings store on Monroe Road, is marking down items as it prepares to close its Charlotte location.
Founded in 1959, the company also has stores in Hickory and Concord. The company is still family-run, and specializes in home lighting and furniture.
Justus Efird, the company's vice president, said Efirds will open a new Charlotte location soon. He wouldn't say exactly where it will be, but said it will be located in south Charlotte.
The store has been located on Monroe Road for 22 years, and Efird said the location was no longer working. "It's not in a high retail area," he said. "We want to move to south Charlotte and get into a high retail environment."
A sale to clear out inventory is scheduled to start Wednesday, Feb. 15. The hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The sale will continue for 90 days, Efird said. He said the company is putting its lowest prices on items now, to clear inventory as rapidly as possible, rather than progressively marking items down as the sales goes on.
"It's a lot easier for me to sell everything than try to move it," Efird said. "The store is closing, but we're not going out of business."
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Efirds Interiors closing, relocating Charlotte store
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17 comments:
Wow. This is not good. But they are right. There is no part of this area and high end retail that go together.
Justus Efird - - now that's a cool name.
I will believe that when I see the new Efirds store in S. Charlotte. I wonder what took them so long to move, it was really easy to see the business was struggling in that location.
Southernboy JJ
Darn, I was hoping they were closing for good. I spent thousands there a year ago and had the worst buying experience ever. Mrs. Efird was rude and condescending when I tried to bring my issues to her. I will never shop there again and advise any Charlottean under the age of 80 to do the same.
Sorry my community is losing such a fantastic business. The selection of lighting is amazing. Love Efird's but wont be driving to south Charlotte. Sadly that is becoming the norm. The city within a city thing is getting old.
I think it is a sad commentary on the state of things in our city as well as our country. A company that has been in business over 50 years cannot make it in this economy. Smaller companies are being drained with all kinds of taxation. This store is a little off the beaten path because the powers that be in Charlotte have focused $$ on South Charlotte..eg Balantyne. The store owner cannot afford to heavily advertise to bring new customers in when people are generally not shopping because of the crippling economy..I hope they are able to generate some sales to make the move & stay open.
I have been buying from Efirds for years and I always have had a great experience. They are a high end store with a very wide selection. Can't wait to see the new store and look forward to seeing what goes on sale!
"I think it is a sad commentary on the state of things in our city as well as our country. A company that has been in business over 50 years cannot make it in this economy."
-- I don't agree with your assessment of the economy. They can make it in this economy. They are moving their business. They aren't closing. I agree that it is a sad commentary that our city is divesting in Monroe Rd, Independence Blvd, and Central Avenue. which is clearly driving out the middle class and businesses that traditionally served them.
Don't you feel like a horse's batoot?
I totally agree with comment from Danny Cooper. My wife and I had purchased items for several years from Efirds until Christmas approx. 2003. My wife ordered a desk to go in study to surprise me. She took measurements of door opening of room and Efirds told her desk would go through it. Efirds delivered desk, it would not go in and they left it in the hallway. Mrs Efird explained that all sales were final and did not offer any help. I got a friend of mine to put the desk in the room, he took the top off the desk and put it in. Mrs Efird was right, that sale was FINAL. She had our money but they will not get anymore. Service goes well beyond the sale, that is where relationships are built or broken.
I agree with the comments about BAD customer service-- this business is TERRIBLE. For the most part, the staff is RUDE. I've bought many things there and when I had a problem with a particularly rude salesperson, I wrote a letter to the president (assuming he'd be mortified to know his customers were being treated that way) and received no response. That was a few years ago and I haven't stepped foot in since. I am surprised it took them so long to close. When there are so many other options that are lower cost, a local business like this has to differentiate on service and relationships. That is where they failed.
There haave been several comments about this business failing and they aren't accurate. The business is relocating.
I work in a family business also. My father taught us that "we always wanted to get the customer's money and his good will". I have dealt with Efirds in the past also and have felt ignorant or frustrated when dealing with Mrs Efird. I quit delaing with them some time ago. They have good merchandise but big box stores do too and they are easier to deal with.
The store closing doesn't really surprise me. I really don't know how they have stayed in business.
I would have to agree with the others. This store has NO customer service. I was hoping things would have changed for the best after 18 years. The staff is still RUDE. I wish I did not purchase items in this store. Not worth the price difference.
My cousin had a really bad experience with them too. She heard they were a high end store so she had gone there instead of a regular one. However, their high prices were not complemented by high end customer service at all. She said she will never patronize there again unless they have a sale. Sadly, there wasn't even a moving out sale when they moved to Charlotte. They must have been too high end mean and put all of their things in storage instead of letting them go at much lower prices.
I worked here in 1990. The comments about rudeness are deadly accurate. They were terrible to work for too.
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