If you’re in the market for vintage L.L. Bean boots, Jovani formal wear or Gymboree baby clothes, then boy are you in luck.
There’s a consignment store nearby that can fill your order.
Resale is a $13-billion industry in the United States, and the Chattanooga area is well-represented in this growing business segment with stores here that specialize in used clothes, furniture and household goods.
Unlike retail-only stores, which are often buffeted by dips in the economy, resale stores tend to be all-weather businesses which survive – and even thrive – during hard economic times. The Association of Resale Professionals, a national trade group, says the resale industry is growing at a rate of about 7 percent a year, at the same time many national retailers have gone belly-up.
One of the fastest-growing segments in the resale industry is consignment, where inventory is provided by sellers who stand to earn 40-50 percent of the selling price when items are eventually sold. Meanwhile, the shop owners keep 50 to 60 percent of sales proceeds for marketing, warehousing and ultimately turning the goods into cash.