Office Concepts of Missouri closes

Last edited 2:41 p.m., Nov. 19, 2014

Office Concepts of Missouri Inc. closed Nov. 14 after more than two decades in business.

The Springfield-based office equipment company, 1723 W. Sunshine St., laid off 15 in the closing, said Shanda Moore, a longtime employee of the business and wife of owner and President Steve Moore.

Shanda Moore, who had served as office manager for the business, cited increased competition and costs as reasons for the closure.

“The margins weren’t able to bear the expenses that we were incurring,” Shanda Moore said, declining to disclose revenues.

She added a small fire at the building about a year ago caused insurance premiums to rise.

Moore said her husband continues to serve as managing partner for Moore Holdings LLC, the business that owns the West Sunshine building where neighbor Liberty Tax Service continues to lease space and operate.  

Steve Moore founded Office Concepts of Missouri in 1990 after purchasing the business from Reggie Elliot. Moore renamed it from Office Concepts, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

In 2004, Office Concepts of Missouri filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and emerged from it successfully the next year. Shanda Moore said the bankruptcy had no impact on the recent closure.