CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It's safe to say most men hate to shop. Amy Pickard knew that, but she believed -- even in a recession -- her business idea would work.
"A lot of guys don't know what consignment is," she said from her store, Revolve Upscale Men's Consignment in Charlotte's Myers Park neighborhood.
Ten months ago Pickard found a deal on 800-square-feet on Circle Avenue just off of Providence Road.
"You got to kind of get a lower price per square foot," she said.
That was June 2009. She opened her doors when the economy wasn't doing well.
"I think a lot of people thought I was crazy," she said.
She wasn't. In fact, she says the timing couldn't have been more perfect. And here's why.
"Everyone still wants to dress nice. But everyone is going through a hard time right now so not everyone can afford to go out and spend the money that they were necessarily spending a few years ago," she said.
It took a while for word to spread, but now some high-end brands sell out as soon as Pickard gets them in.
"I get everything from the conservative, high-end suit to some party gear," she said.
On racks she bought from other stores going out of business, you'll find names like Gucci, Prada and Polo at 30 to even 60 percent off of retail.
"Everything gets reduced every 30 days," she said.
And sometimes it's women who check out the store first.
"I have a lot of women come in. The wives or the girlfriends come in," she said.
Also, consignment stores that focus solely on women have sent her business.
All the merchandise, from jeans to shirts to shoes, she sells on commission for someone else. I tried on two examples and let Pickard add up the savings.
"The shirt is a Ralph Lauren purple label and it retails for about $375 and we have it here for $80. The jeans are True Religion and that style retails for about $275. They're here for $80 as well," she said.
That's nearly $500 less than what you would pay new.
Pickard has poured her heart and soul into this place.
"It's my child," she said.
Her advice to other entrepreneurs is to negotiate on your lease and have a one-year reserve fund. It's a safety net, just in case your concept doesn't catch on.
"Give it a year and see if it takes," Pickard said.
After a slow start, her business has taken off and she's elated she took the plunge. All sales at Revolve are final, which is the reason she tries to get her customers to try things on before they buy. The key word there is "try."
"Men hate trying on clothes, I've realized. They hate it. It's absolutely ridiculous," she laughed.
Pickard says her store is one of only four like it on the East Coast. And already, she's given advice to two more owners who opened upscale men's consignment stores in other cities.
If you want to learn more, check out the store's website at www.revolvecharlotte.com.
