After 37 years, Local Hallmark Store Signs Off

[news]

After 37 years, Local Hallmark Store Signs Off
By Karen Miller

After 37 years in Gig Harbor, the family-run Hallmark store is closing. The liquidation sale began Tuesday.

The closing is due to “a sign of the times,” owner Curt Morford said.

The greeting card business has changed. Hallmark stores are no longer the destination for greeting cards they once were.

“Greeting cards are available wherever you go,” Morford said. “The bread and butter of this store don’t sell like they used to.”

Many of his fellow store owners are facing the same tough decision. Over the past decade, Hallmark has shrunk from 5,000 storefronts to 1,500, Morford said.

The Gig Harbor Morford’s Hallmark opened in 1978 next to the old Safeway building on Point Fosdick Drive. Currently the store is next to QFC at 4914 Point Fosdick Drive.

Morford took over the store from his parents, Brian and JoAnn Morford, who retired in 2005. But before he took the ownership position he spent years in the business with them.

“I helped grow this business with my parents,” Morford said. “We had a lot of fun.”

At one point, the Morford Hallmark franchise expanded to four stores and also encompassed office supplies. In the days before box stores, the Hallmark in Gig Harbor was the source for office supplies. The office supply side of the business closed in 2002.

As of Monday, Morford was contacting his regular customers to inform them of the sale. His parents are in town for the summer to help say goodbye and work at the sale.

The markdown will begin at 25 percent off all items in the store. All items must go and the store will be vacant by the end of June.

Brian and JoAnn Morford, left, general manager Molly Keller, and the Morford's son, Curt, have been a part of the Hallmark in Gig Harbor for 37 years. The store will be closing soon after many decades of service to its customers.

After 37 years, Local Hallmark Store Signs Off
By Karen Miller

After 37 years in Gig Harbor, the family-run Hallmark store is closing. The liquidation sale began Tuesday.

The closing is due to “a sign of the times,” owner Curt Morford said.

The greeting card business has changed. Hallmark stores are no longer the destination for greeting cards they once were.

“Greeting cards are available wherever you go,” Morford said. “The bread and butter of this store don’t sell like they used to.”

Many of his fellow store owners are facing the same tough decision. Over the past decade, Hallmark has shrunk from 5,000 storefronts to 1,500, Morford said.

The Gig Harbor Morford’s Hallmark opened in 1978 next to the old Safeway building on Point Fosdick Drive. Currently the store is next to QFC at 4914 Point Fosdick Drive.

Morford took over the store from his parents, Brian and JoAnn Morford, who retired in 2005. But before he took the ownership position he spent years in the business with them.

“I helped grow this business with my parents,” Morford said. “We had a lot of fun.”

At one point, the Morford Hallmark franchise expanded to four stores and also encompassed office supplies. In the days before box stores, the Hallmark in Gig Harbor was the source for office supplies. The office supply side of the business closed in 2002.

As of Monday, Morford was contacting his regular customers to inform them of the sale. His parents are in town for the summer to help say goodbye and work at the sale.

The markdown will begin at 25 percent off all items in the store. All items must go and the store will be vacant by the end of June.

Brian and JoAnn Morford, left, general manager Molly Keller, and the Morford's son, Curt, have been a part of the Hallmark in Gig Harbor for 37 years. The store will be closing soon after many decades of service to its customers.

[Author]

May 21, 2015 at 11:06 AM