While the past year has been challenging for many retail brands, Winmark’s resale retail franchise concepts saw growth as our franchisees helped our brands expand into new markets and continue to grow their customer bases. From coast to coast, our five brands opened a total of 26 new stores – bringing more communities access to high-quality used items at fair prices. Capitalizing on 2020’s growth, we anticipate more momentum will build throughout 2021.
Here’s a look into what 2020 brought us and a sneak peek into what 2021 may bring for new and potential franchise candidates.
Bringing Resale Retail to Neighborhoods Across North America
This year was a big year for the resale retail industry. With so many families suddenly tightening their budgets due to job loss or cut hours, resale shops came to the rescue as they continued to provide necessary items for their families in the United States and Canada. Our franchisees opened five Plato’s Closet® stores in Alberta, California, New Jersey and Ontario; 16 Once Upon A Child® stores in Tennessee, Arizona, New York, Manitoba, Iowa, Florida, British Columbia, California, Ontario, Nova Scotia, South Carolina, Missouri, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania; four Style Encore® stores in Washington, Virginia, Ohio and Ontario and one Play It Again Sports® in Tennessee.
These 26 resale locations have not only breathed new life into quality used items from members of the community, but have provided a sustainable eco-friendly shopping option during the current economic downturn. We were pleased to see that this growth into new markets came from a healthy mix of new franchisees and existing Winmark franchisees who found success in the system and looked to expand their portfolio.
Top Target Markets for 2021
As we look toward 2021, Winmark has pinpointed ideal growth markets for each of our five resale brands. For each brand, we chose our top development markets with local community needs, multi-unit growth and current brand exposure in mind.
Top markets for resale in general include Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Here are the top five markets for each brand in the New Year.
- Plato’s Closet focus markets include Boston, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Phoenix and San Diego.
- Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Diego are top priority markets for Once Upon A Child.
- Play It Again Sports has available territories in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
- Style Encore focus markets include Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, New Jersey and Tampa.
- Music Go Round® is looking to continue their growth in Austin, Dallas, Nashville, Phoenix and San Antonio
As we head into the New Year, Winmark franchises are an ideal business for anyone with entrepreneurial dreams or someone looking to expand their franchise portfolio with a recession resistant resale concept.
Looking to join a franchise that has 30+ years of success and plenty of growth opportunity in a market near you? Learn more about our franchise opportunities by downloading our franchise brochure today.
