This is the old Service Merchandise store that was once located across from our favorite mall Carolina Circle Mall. Let's take a look behind the scenes of this very interesting store. Unfortunately, I don't have much information about this store, so hang in there.
This store opened sometime in the '70s or '80s. Just like all of the other stores in this area, this store was predicted to be a success, however was squashed like a bug soon after.
There really isn't another store to put up against Service Merchandise. It was sort of a downsized version of Sears and Montgomery Ward. But it did specialize in jewlery. I also remember buying a typewriter there in the early '90s.
Around 1996, the store decided to move all operations to the other side of town. Service Merchandise packed their bags and moved from Carolina Circle to the Landmark Center area off Wendover Avenue. It was located in the former Best store.
In its new location, the store started to sink real deep into demise. In the early '00s, all Service Merchandise locations went out of business nationwide including the Carolina Circle/Wendover one.
Today, the store's Carolina Circle location has been left abandoned and the store's Wendover location is now I believe Hamricks. Also, Service Merchandise has reopened as an Internet retailer only.
2 comments:
Service Merchandise is pretty comparable to Best and Brendle's. They were all catalog showrooms, which were pretty cool in their day.
6/12/2006 10:14 PM
I used to work at this location as well as the new store at Landmark. I believe this was originally a HJ Wilson's. I miss the catalog showrooms and wish there was something close to it. This store was so dated. I worked there in the late 90's and we had an orange "leather" sofa in the breakroom. I still keep in touch with the manager from there.
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