With shelter-in-place orders issued in many states in the U.S. and countries around the world due to COVID-19, businesses of all sizes and industries are learning how to evolve to best serve their customers. The same is true of Winmark resale brands Once Upon A Child®, Play It Again Sports®, Music Go Round®, Plato’s Closet® and Style Encore®.
Across all five Winmark brands, many franchise locations are adjusting to the new normal by offering curbside drop-off and pickup to continue serving their communities.
By offering curbside pickup, our franchisees are making sure customers have access to high-quality, gently used items to suit whatever their needs may be while they stay at home. For example, Once Upon A Child provides activity sets, coloring books, toys, games and books to keep children busy while at home and Play It Again Sports offers quality, affordable home workout equipment.
“Our franchisees continue to be creative in how they support their communities,” said Renae Gaudette, President of Franchising at Winmark Corporation. “Curbside pickup is just one avenue that has evolved in light of COVID-19 to help keep our customers safe and yet still allows our franchisees to support our customers, and in turn, for our customers to support our small business community.”
Adapting to the Needs of the Community
Our franchisees are using a mix of ecommerce and social media to sell items to their customers. To find out what their local store is offering, customers can check their store’s Facebook or Instagram page.
Many Once Upon A Child, Plato’s Closet and Style Encore locations are posting and selling items on social media, in addition to offering personal shopping services.
Peggy Hlushko, a Once Upon A Child franchisee in Regina, Saskatchewan, is just one example of a Winmark franchise owner going above and beyond to serve her customers with curbside pickup during this challenging time.
She has implemented an online shopping program, allowing customers to request and purchase items for pickup. Peggy’s customers can send a message to the store through their Facebook page including the age and gender of their child and type of item they are looking for. Staff at Peggy’s store will then take pictures of a few items for the customer to choose from. Then, customers are able to visit the store one at a time to pick up and pay for their items.
In addition to shopping via social media, customers can buy items online from participating stores at Play It Again Sports, Music Go Round, and Style Encore through their websites and then take advantage of curbside pickup. Some franchisees are even personally delivering items to customers’ doors upon request.
“We continue to be inspired by the flexibility, adaptability, and efforts of our franchisees,” Renae said. “Every day we hear and see numerous stories of franchise partners adapting to our current operating environment. Our brands will be critical going forward in supporting our communities with our focus on value, paying cash for used items, and ongoing commitment to sustainability.”
Winmark brands are dedicated to serving their communities. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Winmark,
download our free franchise report here.
