Get to Know 704 Shop's Chris Moxley
Introducing Chris Moxley, one of three entrepreneurs that founded 704 Shop! As a Charlotte native himself, Chris is proud to be ingrained in the South End community. Keep reading to learn more about Chris and 704 Shop!
Tell us a little bit more about yourself, personally and professionally.
Chris: I’m born and raised in Charlotte, so I’m a Charlotte native. My background is in Financial Services mostly. I’m a UNC Charlotte alum, Belk College of Business 2003. My career took me through financial services, then we started 704 Shop in 2013. About seven years into 704 Shop, I had the opportunity to leave financial services behind and focus on 704 Shop full time, so I’ve been in the business full time for just over three years now.
Tell us more about the concept behind 704 Shop.
Chris: We started 704 Shop to fill a niche around giving people another outlet to express their hometown pride beyond professional sports apparel. When we started the concept, there weren’t many brands where you could express that pride via streetwear or apparel outside of things you could get at the airport or professional sports teams paraphernalia. So, we wanted to fill a void and give people a different way to express their hometown pride through high-quality streetwear.
When choosing a location for your storefront, what made you choose South End? What do you enjoy about this community?
Chris: We did choose South End, but South End kind of chose us. We were doing a lot of pop ups in South End. Before we got this store, we were online only for about four years, and for two of those years, we had a heavy concentration of pop ups within South End whether it be the South End Wine Fest or small business Saturday events or events at the breweries down here. All roads were already leading to South End.
We did pursue some other retail opportunities before landing on this one. Call it fate or whatever, they didn’t work out and this one did. So, ultimately, we chose South End, but like I said, it feels like South End chose us.
Some things that I enjoy about the neighborhood is the mixed-use, the diversity of folks that are in the neighborhood, the diversity of businesses - you’ve got office, retail, bars and restaurants - and I think you need all of that in order to have a strong ecosystem to support a small business like ours. That’s one of the many reasons why we love South End.
If someone is new to Charlotte, what’s ONE thing you want them to know about your business?
Chris: We need their support, that’s the one thing! Come in and find something that you like or love… It’s a labor of love for us, and hopefully we are going to serve you in a way that makes you want to come back. We want to be the city’s brand, and we want to be that for everybody. We cast a wide net, come one come all, and find something at 704 Shop that you enjoy.
In honor of Black History Month, is there anything else you want people to know about your store?
Chris: We have a very inclusive culture within our organization. We have two Black owners and one white owner. How we show up in the community is really important to us, as much as the hometown pride and the great products and excellent customer service. But we can’t show up in the community in the ways that are effective or impactful without people really supporting our business. But when they do support the business, we are able to have two scholarships at UNC Charlotte. We do a Pride collection every year, we’ve done different iterations of products in collaboration with the city of Charlotte for Black History Month. These are things that are cool and add to the fabric and DNA of Charlotte holistically, beyond just moving units. We are happy to do these kinds of things, and we want to continue to be able to do them.
You can find 704 Shop at 1616 Camden Rd. Suite 140!