Brent Sloan wants to do for the resale business what Walt Disney did for the amusement park trade. As the CEO of BaseCamp Franchising, Sloan has found a technique to create an usable business model for franchising consignment shops while overcoming the stigma tied to the consignment business.
Low Price Seakers
Sloan and his other half, opened the first Kid to Kid children?s resale shop by Salt Lake City UT in ?92 as well as their second emporium a year later in West Valley City, Ut. Nowadays, after franchising their model, they have eighty-three shops in nearly twenty U.S. cities, as well as ten units in Europe.
The economic downturn has proved a boon for Kid to Kid, as people seem increasingly eager to resell used clothing and accessories just as customers are set to buy previously owned things for their children. As a matter of fact Kid to Kid realized their greatest sales increase in 2010, forming a record setting year for the business
When the Sloans first decided to become entrepreneurs, they took a long look at Utah?s business climate, searching for areas of opportunity.
Mr. Sloan says he looked at three main components they looked at when evaluating what trade to start. First, they looked for an a lot of lucrative mom-and-pop establishments to make sure there was an appeal for their service. Next, a lack of distinct industry standards would guarantee there was room for growth. Third, there had to be no 800-pound gorilla already monopolizing the business.
?With the 3 criteria, we narrowed in on the kid?s resale industry? Sloan says. ?We were students and my other half was a garage sale queen. There were customers who still shopped resale and enjoyed finding a bargain.?
Sloan was not altogether convinced before he begun reviewing their numbers. Mr. Sloan saw that inside a 5 minute drive of the shop location in Sandy, UT there were nearly one hundred thousand people, and 20,000 plus of those people were kids.
?The amount spent on toys, equipment and clothes for kids is a large number,? he says. ?All we needed was a small percentage of that number to be successful.?
At Kid to Kid stores, things are sold for approximately 1/3 of the new outlay. The number varies depending on the availability of clothing and accessories and the condition of their product. Now, via bright, appealing shops that are configured to echo designer retail shops, expanded people are coming in to purchase and trade.
Adolescent Cheapskates
The Sloans? enthusiasm for business has infected the children: son and daughter Scott and Chelsea Sloan have brought the consignment concept to sophisticated and fashion-discerning teenagers and young adults with Uptown Cheapskate. Their original store started 12 months back. Scott Sloan is the chief executive officer of Uptown Cheapskate, which he operates with his sister Chelsea. The pair should open the eighth store in 2011.
?They don?t have a lot of money to spend on the brands they love,? Scott says. ?They?re forced to be value minded. We supply an arena for those folks to come in and purchase their brands at affordable prices.?
Uptown Cheapskate consignment shops are designed with trendy fixtures and a teen-friendly vibe. Alternatively to denying the stain attached to resale, Scott says they embrace the concept by catering to the environmentally conscious customer who recycles, says ?no? to plastic bags and is prepared to assist charitable businesses
Seventy percent of their clothing and accessories at Uptown Cheapskate are used, the other 30% are new wares purchased from high-quality other retailers and wholesalers like The Gap, Urban Outfitters and American Eagle.
Top of the Pile
In this economy, the challenge for Kid to Kid and Uptown Cheapskate is finding franchisees prepared to invest. Scott says franchise leads are down 60 ? 70% across the board compared with previous years. But with record sales, real estate prices dropping and the labor market flush with prepared workers, Mr. Sloan says it?s never been a better time to have a consignment shop going.
BaseCamp Franchising, the parent enterprise of both Kid to Kid and Uptown Cheapskate Franchise, provides franchisees with inventory management and appraisal program software that allows the owners to track inventory, and decide a resale or purchase price that will minimize mistakes while maximizing sales. The IMAP software system is adjusted to each market and modified according to locus and regional situations.
BaseCamp offers aid units across the country adapt to challenges and grow grow their customer base.
?There aren?t very large numbers of business models that are good in a strong market and even cooler in a down market,? Scott says.
For more information about a Uptown Cheapskate Franchise visit our website. Follow this link for more information about a Consignment Store Franchise.
Source: http://www.articleant.com/62892-uptown-cheapskate-franchise-store
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