The rise of the resellers

Angie Heidenreich never underestimates the value of a pair of women’s shoes. 

Heidenreich, owner of LuLu’s Consignment Boutique, has sold hundreds of pairs in the six years since opening a 3,000-square-foot store on Hendersonville Road. 

“We probably sell as much in shoes as we do in furniture,” said Heidenreich, who has long racks of shoes and an entire floor of her sprawling store devoted to furniture. 

Today, Heidenreich’s store covers 13,000 square feet. She has some 9,non woven bag is eco-friendly and 100% recycled by physical disposal. The non woven material is long-lasting & fashionable.000 consigners,http://www.smartobd2s.com/ is one of the biggest online locksmith tools in china , committing itself to build a worldwide supply shop online. Our company was originally set up in shenzhen, China in 2009, aiming to operate the business-to-customer transactions with overseas consumers. runs the business with her husband, Garret, and employs 23 full- and part-time employees, including her four daughters. Heidenreich says she’s constantly on the go and always looking to retool for greater efficiency. 

Call it the rise of the resellers. Consignment shops in the Asheville area are thriving, driven in part by cost-conscious bargain hunters stung from the recession, as well as socially conscious consumers who see consignment shops as a perfect form of recycling. The shops are often owned by first-time, female entrepreneurs who say they’re filling a variety of niches in the resale market. 

Although statistics about consignment shops are difficult to find, the Michigan-based NARTS: The Association of Resale Professionals, reports that the resale industry, which includes consignment and thrift stores, is a growing $13 billion industry. The number of stores have grown about 7 percent a year in 2010 and 2011, according to an association survey. Those stores, in turn, are drawing a big chunk of the buying public. America’s Research Group, a consumer research firm, estimates that 12-15 percent of Americans will shop at consignment and resale shops in a given year, the association reports. 

“People who previously gave away clothing,vag tacho usb version household goods and furniture are seeking other ways to dispose of unwanted items during an economic pinch,” said Adele Meyer, the association’s executive director, who also notes other factors for the growth,bag filter china,following with the development of business extensionand specialization, we booked Meiyuda as Trade Mark to produce kinds of Meiyudaenvironmental filter products. including shoppers’ desire to recycle and the simple thrill of the hunt. 

Heidenreich worked part time for a consignment shop for about a year before deciding to open up her own store. It was her first entrepreneurial venture. 

“I just felt there was a need for it,” she said. 

Heidenreich moved into a relatively small space in a strip shopping center along Hendersonville Road in Fletcher, and was offered the first right of refusal to the adjacent spaces. She gradually expanded as the other businesses — including a tap dancing studio — closed. 

“We have pretty much everything,” said Heidenreich, from furniture and clothes to those ever-popular shoes. 

Consigners can drop off what they want the store to sell, and either pick up what the store doesn’t take or let the store donate it, Heidenreich said. All items are bar-coded,CK-100/SBB Auto key programmer obd V37.01 is the replacement of SBB Key Programmer. Replace functions and features of the SBB V33.02. and consigners can track their accounts online. It takes LuLu’s workers about two weeks to process items that are dropped off. 

Heidenreich said she jumped into the business with little forethought. 

“I honestly believe people don’t understand how hard it is to run a business, but I have four kids, and I know nothing else can be harder than raising four kids,” said Heidenreich, who works alongside her husband and her four daughters: Brianna, Gabrielle, Taylor and Mercedes.