Recycling, Budget at Heart of Local Consignment Market

Everyone likes a good deal. And Dawn Valdez, owner of the Pink Bag Consignment Shop in Rogers, has plenty of them.

So many, in fact, she’s had to double the size of her store — from 2,600-SF to 5,200-SF— to keep pace with demand.

Offering bargain prices on women’s designer clothing for all ages and occasions, Valdez is at the forefront of a niche industry that has taken root in Northwest Arkansas.

In business since 2009, Valdez has been so successful that she’s about to open a second store, Blue Chair Furniture Consignment, just down the street from her clothing outlet. 

Benefiting from the upward trend in recycling and the belt-tightening learned during the recession, consignment offers peace for the conscience and relief for the pocket book. 

And along the way, it can be a lot of fun.

“I have not had a day where I did not love coming to work,” Valdez said.

Consigners bring their clothing to the store, and if it meets Valdez’s standards — heavily worn clothing and garments from Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Target are not accepted — the merchandise is put on display. When it sells, Valdez splits the proceeds with the consigner 60-40. If after two months the merchandise does not sell, the consigner either retrieves it or it is donated to charity.

Her mastery of consignment dates began when her husband Mark, a mortgage broker, was hit by the recession. His office, in a house at 1500 W. Walnut St., became a loadstone.

He couldn’t sell it and it wasn’t generating any revenue as the seat of his brokerage firm, but the bills still had to be paid.

Valdez decided that something had to be done to at least make the house pay for itself. She decided to open a consignment shop in a back room. About a month after opening, the store spilled into another room, and then another, and then another until Pink Bag consumed the entire house with clothing for children, plus-sizes, formal, bridal, seasonal and cocktail.

Now she has seven part-time employees, 3,200 consigners and her daughter, Whitney, operates Tease Me Hair Salon there.

Valdez credits her rapid rise in part to the presence of Pinnacle Hills Promenade, where a lot of the consigned clothes ultimately come from. But she also credits timing.

“I hit the market,” she said. “Consignment is hot.”

 

Resale Riding High

Valdez is right. In the last 10 years, the resale industry has grown by 45 percent, from $9.2 billion in sales in 2003 to $13.4 billion in sales in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which tracks sales on a monthly and annual basis.

Resale figures, according to the Census, include clothing, books, antiques, sporting goods and furniture. Motor vehicles and parts are not included. While consignment shops have proven viable, used merchandise is still sold primarily at thrift stores, which rely on free donations that are sold to support a charity.

By far the largest player on the thrift-store side of the resale business is Goodwill International Industries Inc. Operating 2,700 stores nationwide and in Canada, Goodwill rang up $4.8 billion in sales in 2012. According to Goodwill, the company spends 81 percent of its revenue on programs such as family support and workforce services.

In Arkansas, Goodwill operates 33 stores, seven of which are in this region. In 2012, Goodwill recorded $24 million in sales statewide. Since 2012, Goodwill has opened four stores in Arkansas, including one in Fayetteville and a mega-store in Rogers. Goodwill’s efforts to expand began in 2008, when Brian Itzkowitz was named president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Arkansas.

While Goodwill devours the lion’s share of resale dollars, there’s still plenty of room for small outlets, which outnumber Goodwill by more than eight to one. The largest resale association in the United States, Michigan-based NARTS: The Association of Resale Professionals, estimates that there are at least 25,000 resale, consignment and thrift stores nationwide.

Citing statistics from America’s Research Group, a research consultancy based in Florida, the resale association says 12-15 percent of Americans will shop at a resale or consignment store in a given year, as compared to 21.3 percent who will shop at a major department store.

 

Cleaning Up with Consignment

Debbie Eden came up in the resale world the hard way. Cleaning houses while raising four kids didn’t leave a whole lot left for new clothes, much less designer labels. She bought what she could afford.

“I’ve always done the garage sale and the thrift store thing,” she said. “I did it before it was popular. I did it out of necessity. My kids used to complain about it.”

Cleaning houses, however, proved to be an eye opener. As the owner of Custom Cleaning, she landed contracts with high-end clients, and it was during those years that she saw how the other half lived — expensive clothing and furniture, fancy wares and goods that oftentimes were barely used before being hauled off to a thrift store.

She knew there was a niche, and she knew she could create a shopping experience better than what was found in the typical thrift store. In 2009, she finally decided to take the risk
and opened Eco Chic, which carries clothing, furniture and household goods, at 4058 Elm Springs Road in Springdale.

“I opened it on a shoestring budget,” she said. “I came up with money I didn’t know I had.”

Eden has four part-time and four full-time employees and about 1,400 consigners. She sells items on a 50-50 split with her clients. In the event an item doesn’t sell, it’s returned to the consigner after 60 days. For furniture, the window is 90 days.

Like Valdez, Eden says the store appeals to consumers because it offers great deals and a chance to recycle in a world that is throwing less and less away.

Also like Valdez, Eden is picky about what makes it into the showroom. Furniture can’t have any hair, human or animal, and no products are accepted from smoking households. A knowing smile comes to her face when asked if she’s ever had to turn down someone’s goods.

“Oh, yeah,” she said.

Eden’s cleaning business has taken a big backseat, and it might go away forever. Eden, sensing a chance to stake an even larger claim in the resale
industry, recently opened a second store, Midtown Eclectic Mall, at 308
S. Thompson St. in downtown Springdale.

Since 2009, Eden says she’s warmed to the idea of retail — customer service, staging the floor, product knowledge and competitive pricing. When it all comes together, there’s nothing like it.

“I love the people,” she said. “I like to see them get a good deal and I like to see people get money back from a sale.”