Retail News – September 2026
Words by Rosa Sophia
Despite a Small Staff and an Ever-Changing Industry, Extreme Soundz Continues to Thrive
Lumberton, NC-based Extreme Soundz celebrated 25 years in business in July. The owner, Rachel Faber, took the store over from her father. The family is based in Michigan, though, where they operate Factory Direct Marketing, a wholesale business. Extreme Soundz assistant manager Cynthia Buie said, “We are one of the only brick-and-mortar stores in the Lumberton area.”
Buie worked in the industry in the ’90s, but left and worked as a teacher for most of her career. She recently retired from the school system. As the only female on staff, Buie said she often finds herself defending her wide breadth of knowledge about car audio. But she loves her work. “I enjoy it. I enjoy music and I enjoy this industry.”
The store has six employees and focuses mainly on car and truck audio, but has also expanded its offerings in boats, ATVs, RVs, motorcycle and lighting categories. Buie said they’d like to hire another team member, but it’s been a difficult search.
“When some one wants to get out of their car to listen to the vehicle, then the install’s not for [the driver]. It’s for everyone else to hear.”
“When we hire, they work alongside someone first. That person has years of experience, so [the new hire] is learning our methods at Extreme Soundz. We’ve always been fortunate to have people who want to learn it the right way.”
When it comes to shifts in the way people are buying, Buie said she’s noticed an uptick in Jeep owners coming in for sound systems. “I think it would surprise some people to know that money is still being spent on audio. This hasn’t changed.”
Although Extreme Soundz has been working on motorcycles for some time, the team went deeper into the category in the last five years. “These are big systems they’re putting on motorcycles, not the simple four-speaker setup anymore. Jerry, our store manager, goes to SEMA and other shows with the owner. He gets a lot of information about new products. Then we do our own research.”
She added they’ve also observed “a big jump” in the slingshot market, so the shop does audio and lighting for those, as well. “On occasion, we’ll do sound systems in 18-wheelers. We also do alarms, remote starts and truck accessories.”
Often, accessories will become good add-on sales, she said. In the springtime, motorcycle audio is a big category for the shop “when everyone’s getting ready for the rallies in Myrtle Beach or down in Daytona.” After Christmas, remote start season begins. “Those become big during the winter months. Warm weather will always mean motorcycles, slingshots, boats and golf carts. When people are out, that’s when they’re thinking about upgrading those vehicles.”
Despite difficulty in finding more staff, Extreme Soundz employees are in it for the long haul. One team member started one day shy of 25 years ago, and another has been with the business for 20 years, according to Buie. Buie’s husband, who passed away recently, also worked for the company and had years of experience and training. The team, she added, continues to train and stay current.
“You’ve got to keep up with it or you get left behind,” she said, adding that it’s the same with motorcycles. “I flash the motorcycles here for certain models, and that’s important to keep up with. There’s no such thing as just doing a radio install anymore.”
“Everyone who works here now started out young, in their 20s, doing this for their friends. They were passionate about it. I just don’t see those people like I used to,” Buie admitted. “There are motorcycle competitions around here. But the car part of it—quality sound, not the SPL. When someone wants to get out of their car to listen to the vehicle, then the install’s not for [the driver]. It’s for everyone else to hear.”
She added that she’d be happy to train people who are new to the industry—“It’s getting them to come into the door” that’s the hard part.
