8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 28, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Flushing Uniform Center rises from humble beginnings
to providing uniforms to USPS employees nationwide
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
When Victor Ma’s parents emigrated
from Taiwan to the United States in the
early 1980s, his mother had dreams of
being an entrepreneur and fi nding success
in a new country.
“She saw a lot of people carving their
own path and making their own way,” Ma
said. “She saw a lot of entrepreneurs and
small business owners and wanted to follow
her own American dream.”
So, in the early 1990s, Christina Ma
decided to get into the uniform business.
In 1992, her sister in law bought
a uniform store from a father-and-son
duo who had owned it for 30 years. Two
years later, Christina bought the Flushing
Uniform Center at 36-39 Main St. and
started selling scrubs at the brick and
mortar to local doctors and nurses.
Ma, who was born and raised nearby
in Bayside along with his two sisters, said
that his mom saw the shop as an opportunity
to build her own business and follow
her dreams. As Flushing developed
into a more commercial neighborhood,
she had to adapt to the evolving needs of
the people.
Although she did not start off as the
business-savvy person she is today, Ma
said that she eventually built a loyal customer
base. In addition to scrubs, she
started selling restaurant uniforms and
all-day comfort footwear. But between
1994 and 1998, Ma said that a number of
postal employees — specifi cally Chinese
employees from Queens and Brooklyn
— came into the store looking for postal
uniforms, which they were not selling
at the time.
In response to the growing demand,
his parents obtained the offi cial license to
sell postal uniforms in 1998. Ma said that
the USPS has specifi c requirements for
stores who sell employee uniforms, which
include ensuring that the products are
created in America by union workers. Th e
uniforms sold at these stores should be
able to withstand varying weather conditions
and staining while remaining comfortable
all day.
Th e business continued to thrive in
Flushing over the next two decades until
COVID-19 hit New York.
“In 26 years she never closed the store
for more than a couple days at a time,
until COVID hit and the city locked down
in mid-March last year,” Ma said. “Th at
was the very fi rst time she closed up shop.
We were closed for about three months
and then when she opened up the store
again, there was a rush of her loyal postal
employees who had been waiting for
her to open back up because there was
nowhere else for them to get their uniforms.”
Since the Flushing Uniform Center
reopened, Ma said that a lack of foot traffi
c forced them to cut back on their hours
of operation.
“Th at’s what a lot of small businesses in
New York are struggling with right now.
As things open up again, hopefully foot
traffi c will come back and our business
will come back. But we’re hoping to open
up fully again seven days a week,” Ma said.
In 2019, Ma launched the business’s
website postalvendor.com, which caters
to the uniform shop’s USPS-employed clientele.
Th e Bayside native said that he and
his family saw an opportunity to expand
their reach to postal employees across
the country. He added that the site also
helped them to conduct business even
when the brick and mortar shut down
during the pandemic.
“Th ere aren’t a lot of options for postal
employees to get their uniforms. New
York has some stores that are licensed but
not every state does,” he said. “During
COVID when New York was shut down
for nonessential retail for those few
months, we were still able to at least take
the orders in. When we opened up shop,
we were able to ship it out to people across
the country.”
Th e website currently serves postal
employees in all 50 states.
Ma shared that his favorite part of the
industry is providing products for essential
workers locally and beyond.
“I enjoy just being able to make other
people’s jobs easier. We provide a service
for people we consider to be very essential,”
Ma said. “We’re thankful that we’ve
been able to be here this long serving
our local community and our local postal
employees. So the best part is to be able
to just get them the things they need in a
quick and effi cient way so they can just do
their jobs.”
Th e Flushing Uniform Center is currently
open Sunday through Th ursday
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Learn more at
postalvendor.com.
Photos courtesy of Victor Ma
Victor Ma
With the purchase of glasses,
contact lens e l.
2 Boxes of Lenses Frames & Lenses
DESIGNER FRAMES
PLUS FREE 2ND PAIR
* $200 minimum purchase on first pair of designer
frames. Second pair frame from select group with
Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this
location only. Not valid with any other offers, sales,
vision plans or packages.
Offer ends 2/28/21
offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present
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Offer ends: 2/28/21
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lens fitting additional. Not valid for Toric lenses. Not valid with
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Some restrictions apply, see store for details.
Offer ends: 2/28/21
Select frames with clear plastic, single vision lensas
vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase.
Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply,
see store for details
Offer ends: 2/28/21
JANUARY SALES
9 FLEX SPENDING 9
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SUNGLASSES
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