Tidmore Flags
0912 Tidmore Flags
Tidmore Flags owner Eric Pfieffer sells thousands of different flags through their retail and online stores. Photo by Madison Miller.
After purchasing Tidmore Flags in 2010, owner Eric Pfieffer discovered that the business was not what he had expected.
“I learned that there are a lot more to flags than what I originally thought,” he said.
Of course they have flags for all 50 states and 220 U.N. countries. Customers can also find everything from a traditional American flag to the flag that Christopher Columbus sailed with on his way to the New World. Historical, religious, military, collegiate, sports—Tidmore has a flag in stock for everything in at least three sizes.
“If it’s a flag, we probably have it,” Pfieffer said.
Before his ownership, Tidmore Flags was mostly a mail-order business. While it still does most of its business that way, Pfieffer has added merchandise that is more appealing to walk-in customers, including decorative and garden flags for homeowners.
“We are constantly getting new designs for our decorative flags throughout the year,” he said.
The flag headquarters began in 1963 when Montgomery native Anne Tidmore started the business out of her home. About 20 years ago, her daughter, Marianne Wofford, and her husband Ed bought the business and moved it to Birmingham. It has been at its location on Independence Drive for about 15 years.
Pfieffer, originally from South Dakota, is a fourth generation commercial printer. After four years of business in Iowa, the floods of 2008 damaged the building so much that he was forced to close. Pfieffer moved back home but not for long.
“I went through one really bad winter up there and decided that I had to move south,” he said.
Along with his changes in merchandise after purchasing the business, Pfieffer also decided to re-do Tidmore’s website. The project took about a year to complete.
“It took a lot of man hours. It was our biggest hurdle,” he said.
Although the quality of the flags makes them last for a long time, Pfieffer enjoys when customers come back for more. He and his employees also appreciate their location. The traffic, they said, helps to bring in customers.
“We love Homewood,” said Ashley Gervais, customer service and sales specialist at Tidmore Flags.
Pfieffer has enjoyed continuing the legacy of this once family-owned business. Helping the customers and community find what they need is his favorite part of the business.
“When the customers come by and say their flag lasted a long time, that’s great.”
