The daily grind of managing the small business located on the south edge of town only compounded when COVID hit, said Amanda Forrest, long-time owner of Appliances Unlimited.
Supply chain issues, inability to hire qualified delivery and installation technicians and the challenges of competing with big box stores all led to her decision to shutter the appliance store. Adding to that mix was inflation.
“Since COVID, things haven’t been the same,” said Forrest, who bought the store 19 years ago when it was a rent to own establishment and transitioned it to its current business model.
Forrest said small appliance businesses such as hers have a hard time competing with the big box stores and the markup on appliances is minuscule. Those larger retail outlets have contracts with appliance manufacturers and are first in line for products off the assembly line. Consumers snatching up appliances using COVID stimulus money led to back orders and since then, Forrest said they’ve never been able to fully restock.
In addition, during the pandemic people got comfortable buying online and less comfortable going into a brick and mortar. In the business’s heyday, it was good, she said, and she was able to make money by selling volume, but sales have been down.
Forrest said she’s enjoyed owning a small business in the community and encountered many great and loyal customers in the last two decades.
“It’s been fun but the reality is those were the good ol’ days,” said Forrest.
Three months ago, expecting inflation to subside, she made a plan to downsize her business into half of her building, but the expected easing of inflation didn’t come quick enough and the decision was made to close. She also lost all of the sales reps she’s come to rely on as one by one they retired.
Forrest still owns a gym that offers fitness classes and yoga located in the building and for now, she said, that business won’t change. As for the appliance store, she announced its official closing on Tuesday. When the doors will close permanently hasn’t been decided.
“I don’t have an exact date in mind. I just want it to go quickly,” she said. “I’ve debated this for a long time.”
One thing that Forrest feels strongly about is the need for a community to support its small businesses.
“I think going forward people need to appreciate small businesses,” she said, and customers, she feels, place too high of expectations on local businesses, while giving big box stores a pass.
Everything in the store has been marked down to at least 50% off, she said. Hours for the store are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon. The doors will remain open during the close-out sale.
“Everybody keeps telling me I’m so sorry, but I’m happy,” said Forrest. “Things just aren’t as they used to be. I’m looking forward to moving on.”
