Queen City Audio Video & Appliances, the independent Charlotte, N.C.-based chain, is back in expansion mode.
Five years after reorganizing under Chapter 11, the family-owned business will celebrate its 65th anniversary with the reopening a 15,000-square-foot store in Monroe, N.C., that was closed during the economic downturn.
CEO Roddey Player said the store will be the largest majap and CE showroom in the county when it re-opens for business in late June.
He noted that the expansion was prompted by the impending closure of a local Sears location that “will leave a void for area customers who favor quality merchandise, built-in appliance options and knowledgeable sales help.”
The retailer, founded as a TV service business in 1952, began selling appliances in the mid-1960s, and later added CE, motion leather furniture and bedding.
The chain hit a peak of 16 stores in 2006 before weakness in Charlotte’s backbone banking industry led to the retailer’s retrenchment, but it remains a mainstay of TWICE’s annual Top 50 Major Appliance Retailer rankings (this year’s report will be released next week), and placed 105th in our latest top consumer electronics retailers list.
Indeed, the company describes itself as “the largest independent appliance and electronics dealer in the Carolinas,” and attributes its longevity in part to its membership in the Nationwide Marketing Group, where it said it benefits from competitively-priced vendor programs and exclusive manufacturer rebates. Queen City was an early adherent of the buying organization, and aside from two brief off-and-on stints with the NATM Buying Corp., has been a member since the 1980s.
“The combination of Union County’s projected population growth, our product mix, and our state-of-the-art product knowledge bodes well for our success,” Player said of the Monroe showroom.
