Stickley to open larger store in Charlotte, N.C.

Company also wins SBA regional entrepreneur award

Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, May 9, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — High-end manufacturer Stickley has purchased a former Boyles showroom to become its main store here once the lease expires on its current location.

The 36,052-square-foot building, built in 2004, is larger than the current location and became available after Boyles filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores. It will require little work to convert it to a Stickley showroom, officials said.

Stickley announced the purchase last week in a memo to Stickley staff from President and CEO Aminy Audi and Edward Audi, executive vice president of manufacturing.

"At a time when many furniture manufacturers and retailers are closing their doors or reducing their footprints, we feel blessed to be in a position to expand and plan for future growth," the memo said.

The new location at 7215 Smith Corners Blvd. is about 15 miles north of the company's Charlotte store at 721 Governor Morrison St.

The existing showroom in Charlotte will remain open until its lease expires in September 2012.

Stickley has tentative plans for a soft opening in mid-August and a grand opening on Labor Day, the memo said. The showroom will carry several other lines of furniture in addition to Stickley.

Including the new store, Stickley now has 14 retail locations. That total does not include a location in Arizona whose lease the company is not renewing. In addition to North Carolina, Stickley has stores in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Connecticut Massachusetts and New York.

Also this month, the company received the Small Business Administration's 2011 Entrepreneurial Success Award for Region II, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The memo cited Alfred Audi, the company's late president, in saying, "We dedicated it to Alfred's memory, whom we knew would say, ‘It belongs to everyone at Stickley.'"