Fast-growing resale clothing franchise helps entrepreneurs thrive in a business that makes a real difference in their communities
Uptown Cheapskate is at the forefront of a massive sea change in how American consumers shop for clothing. The resale clothing industry is becoming more and more mainstream as a result of the lasting impact of the Great Recession and the need to take action against Climate Change. This has created a booming resale clothing industry that is poised to continue to grow well into the future, and Uptown Cheapskate, with our focus on delivering a high-end shopping experience with name brand items, is unlike any brand in the segment.
“The secondhand clothing industry is exploding right now,” says Chelsea Sloan Carrol, Brand President of Uptown Cheapskate. “The media focuses on the rise of online retail shopping, but in reality, our stores have average ticket prices of $10. There is a tangibility about shopping resale that you simply cannot get online. When people come in and shop for clothing, they’re going to reject a lot, and for a $10 average price, it doesn’t make sense for us to ship our clothes online, and it doesn’t make sense for customers who want to try their items on. We’re seeing tremendous growth in terms of profitability and customer count in our stores, and we’re seeing a tremendous rise in the popularity of resale shopping.”
Here are three reasons why owning an Uptown Cheapskate franchise is a best-bet investment:
Resale clothing is a big business
Uptown Cheapskate is a world away from the resale shopping experience Americans have become accustomed to. Walk into an Uptown Cheapskate and you will find no bargain bins, no customers digging in mountains of clothes – instead, you will find a brightly lit, highly organized store, with rack after rack full of the most fashionable name brands reduced up to 70% of their retail price.
“Uptown Cheapskate exists to bring affordable styles to the masses,” says Scott Sloan, CEO of Uptown Cheapskate. “We’re a mainstream alternative to resale. We appeal to a wider customer base than a lot of our competitors because we focus on an upscale experience that doesn’t feel like resale. We’ve been rapidly growing now for years, and we’re going to add hundreds of locations in the years to come.”
Sustainable Shopping is far better for the environment
There are two significant reasons why the resale clothing industry is now mainstream: 1) While the economy is in an upturn, American wages are stagnant and have been for years, and 2) we’re in a serious environmental crisis, and American consumers, especially millennials and Gen-Z, want to minimize their impact on the environment. According to Bustle, millennials thrift more than any other generation by a long shot, and for exactly the reasons mentioned above: they want to save money, and they’re aware of the damage fast-fashion causes to the environment.
“When I first discovered the resale fashion industry, and learned how sustainable it was, as well as how popular it’s getting, I was very intrigued,” says Justin Crump, owner of two Uptown Cheapskate franchises in Utah. “The retail apocalypse is not affecting the resale clothing industry. People like the fact that we’re not putting new items into the environment, and of course, they like the fact that they’re getting a good deal. We have about 700-800 people every week that shop with us, and about 400 people that sell to us on a weekly basis. We were able to scale up quickly to multi-unit ownership quickly after the success of our first store. It’s been extremely rewarding, both personally and financially, and it’s a very fun business to own.”
Uptown Cheapskate franchise owners make an impact in their communities and beyond
Uptown Cheapskate is especially community-minded. Our franchise owners deliver an unmatched resale shopping experience that provides tremendous savings on in-fashion items all year long. Our stores are chic, bright and appealingly organized – think The Gap, Banana Republic, J. Crew, but without the high prices. We also give our customers the ability to sell their clothes back to us directly, and for the clothes we don’t buy, we can donate on behalf of our customers. This keeps thousands and thousands of items out of landfills every week and creates a relationship that is based on giving and trust.
Our franchisees donate thousands of items to local charities every year, but our commitment doesn’t stop there. Uptown Cheapskate hosts two annual charity events on a national level, which goes to support buildON, an organization that builds schools in developing countries. These events are called Fill-a-Bag Sales, and they are exactly what they sound like: customers pay $15 and are able to stuff as many items into the bag as they can – and all of the money goes directly to buildON. We also donate 5 cents per customer on an ongoing basis to buildON if the customer opts out of taking a plastic bag.
Since we began our partnership with buildON, the results have been extraordinary. Since 2015, we’ve raised more than $500,000 to build more than 14 schools in developing countries such as Mali, Burkina Fason, Senegal, Haiti, Nepal, Malawi, and Nicaragua.
Ready to start your new career as an Uptown Cheapskate franchise owner?
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