Essential eclecticism: How Bubba Morgan built Southeastern Salvage into a one-stop shop for home goods over the past 40 years

Photography by Louis Lee / An aerial view of the Southeastern Salvage warehouse on Lee Highway.
Photography by Louis Lee / An aerial view of the Southeastern Salvage warehouse on Lee Highway.

In 1980, Bubba Morgan and one of his business associates had an opportunity to open a home décor and furnishing store in either Shreveport, Louisiana, or Chattanooga, so they flipped a coin to decide who would receive which store.

According to Morgan, it was the best coin flip he ever lost.

"We flipped a coin and I lost the toss, so I got the store in Chattanooga on Dodds Avenue that we'd just bought," says Morgan, the founder and owner of Southeastern Salvage, now located on Lee Highway.

Forty years later, Southeastern Salvage features just under 10,000 items among 10 locations in six states, with an eleventh store slated to open in Greenville, South Carolina, this year.

When Southeastern Salvage first opened its doors on Dodds Avenue, the store was primarily purchasing house sidings, doors, and similar items from closeouts and auctions. The storefront later moved to its enormous 126,000 square-foot space on Lee Highway, which allowed Morgan to significantly broaden product offerings.

his increase in product variety forced Southeastern Salvage to adjust their business strategy to purchase items from around the country, which ultimately landed Morgan and his wife, Carla, in California in 1991.

During their 17-month stint in California, Morgan attended innumerable auctions that featured merchandise from around the world, and the international commodities found in these auctions led Morgan and his buyers overseas.

"When we came back, I'd seen so many other items that are quite frankly a lot more profitable to sell than plywood, roofing, siding, and products like that, which are commodity products and are very competitive," Morgan says. "So I hired three additional buyers and we started traveling, going to China, and I think the first time we went to a show in China we spent $750,000."

Almost three decades since their first trip to Asia, Southeastern Salvage currently imports from close to 20 countries, such as India, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, and Turkey.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a precipitous decline in business for most industries, particularly those that rely heavily on international travel, Southeastern Salvage has continued to see steady business in 2020.

Considering many Americans have been self-quarantining at home, lawn care and home décor items have been flying off the shelves, which has allowed all 10 stores to remain open this year.

"I think the yards in America this year are going to be prettier than they've ever been," Morgan says. "Why? Because nobody has had anything to do but work in their yards, so any yard products we've had, whether it's mulch or pottery, has just flown out the door."

Southeastern Salvage

* Address: 6052 Lee Highway* Online: 2nds.biz

Additionally, the company did not have to lay off a single employee, but allowed those that were uncomfortable to take a leave of absence. Employees who chose to work during this time received "combat pay," which is a temporary increase in their hourly wage.

Morgan credits their ability to remain open to the hard work of his employees as well as the domestic products they have access to, which is exemplified by Southeastern Salvage's "dotcom" buyout deals that feature surplus products from major U.S. vendors.

Despite the prosperity Southeastern Salvage has seen in recent months, Morgan acknowledges how detrimental this pandemic has been for their international "cottage industry" suppliers who create one-of-a-kind products.

"As much as I'd like to place an order, I can't do that by phone call, I can't do that by Zoom. We've been OK, but we're ready to start helping these small businesses out because they're begging for orders."

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