Kid to Kid Celebrates 25 Years of Upscale Shopping at Bargain Prices as Part of Growing Resale Industry

DALLAS and FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 14, 2017 -- While big-name retailers struggle in an uphill battle to compete with online rivals, or create their own online presence, resale businesses are the little engines that could.

Each Kid to Kid resale store is independently-owned and operated with 15 locations in the Metroplex area. All Kid to Kid stores work closely with baby manufacturers to ensure no equipment is on any recall list. Each baby equipment and toy are also thoroughly inspected and go through a point-by-point safety check by trained staffers. Kid to Kid carries new and gently-loved clothes in well-known, trusted brand-names for children in sizes infant to size 12. Kid to Kid carries new and gently-loved maternity wear year-round to keep expecting moms fashionable. Kid to Kid carries all the popular toys you see at retail stores. All toys, clothing, shoes and baby equipment priced at least 70% off retail or mall prices. Kid to Kid stores give cash to their customers on the spot for their children's items, unlike consignment stores where a customer waits for their items to sell before getting paid.

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Dun & Bradstreet reports that resale businesses generate about $17 billion annually with more than 15 percent to 16 percent of Americans visiting a resale shop at least once a year. That’s 4 percent more than shoppers who visit outlets, and nearly on par with the 20-21 percent that go to major department stores.

“People are always concerned with finances,” says Misti McCay, owner of three Kid to Kid resale shops in the metro area. “They can sell their items and then turn around and use their store credit or cash to purchase something need. Right now in Texas, we see a lot of people realizing that their kids have outgrown their winter clothes from last year. They are coming in to sell their items, and then purchase new ones in a bigger size.”

Wednesday, Nov. 15^th marks the 25^th anniversary of the first Kid to Kid store, which opened in 1992 in Sandy, Utah. The company now has more than 100 stores in the United States and Europe, including 15 in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. To celebrate the silver anniversary on the 15^th, every store is offering a 25 percent discount on purchases.

The National Association of Resale Professionals predicts 7 percent growth for resale stores in the coming year, a nearly unheard-of statistic in a retail industry plagued by bankruptcies and closures. Retail giants such as Sears, J.C. Penney, Payless Shoes, Gymboree and more are closing as many as 5,000 stores nationwide.

McCay said her three locations in Plano, Fort Worth and Lake Worth are well ahead of the 7 percent growth prediction with 10 percent sales growth at one store, and 20 percent at the other two.

Tracy Schwegman, who owns a Kid to Kid in Frisco with her husband, Brian, attributes resale growth to several factors, including the incentive of getting cash or store credit on the spot. Kid to Kid shop owners pay for high-end, slightly used clothing and toys. If they can’t purchase the item due to condition or overstock, they will accept it for donation to community charities and provide the tax-deductible donation slip to the customer.

“I think it has a lot to do with the fact that you can get more store credit. You can trade in your old clothes for new clothes,” Schwegman said.

While major retailers are limited to which brands they carry, she said that Kid to Kid shops are not. Unique items from around the world can be found on their shelves, giving shoppers an opportunity to find amazing treasures unlike anything a large department store might offer.

“It’s like having the entire mall under one roof,” she said. “You can have your basic brands and your designer brands -- all in one place. You can find a lot of unique items. We never know what is going to come through our doors.”

She said that as the mother of triplets, she learned quickly not to spend a lot of money on items her children would need only briefly.

“I learned early on there was no need to pay full price for things because there are so many excellent used products out there. People don’t realize how many good quality products are available.  You don’t have to pay full price for clothes the kids will wear once or twice or toys they will quickly outgrow.”

She said any toy or item of clothing that Kid to Kid puts on the shelves has met the company’s high level of scrutiny. “Our items are checked for stains or rips, and toys are checked to be sure they work and for safety – as opposed to buying at other thrift stores or from an online seller.”

Another factor helping the resale industry is its environmental benefits. This effort driven by green-minded millennials, who will become the largest spending group in 2018 with an expected outgo of $3.39 trillion. More and more shoppers – and not just the millennials - are aware that selling their used clothing is a great way to keep it from landfills.

In North America, consumers are buying -- and getting rid of -- five times as much clothing as they did 25 years ago, reports Elizabeth Cline in her book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion (Portfolio, 2013). A staggering 85 percent of apparel ends up in a landfill -- that's more than 10.5 million tons of clothing and equates to 80 pounds of clothing that ends up in a landfill from each man, woman, and child in the United States.

In contrast, Kid to Kid stores recycled more than 11 million items last year, passing on the clothing and toys to other families, who can stretch their dollars further by shopping resale. In a perfectly timed coincidence, Kid to Kid celebrates its anniversary right in the middle of National Recycling Awareness Week, which is this week, Nov. 13-19.

ABOUT Kid to Kid
Kid to Kid stores are part of Basecamp Franchising, which was founded in 1992 and now has more than 100 stores in 17 states, including 15 franchises in the Metroplex area, the largest market in the country. The Kid to Kid franchises are located in: Allen, Arlington, Bedford, Burleson, Frisco, Ft.Worth, Grapevine, Greenville, Keller, Lake Worth, Lewisville, McKinney, Plano, Rockwall, and Weatherford. Each store is independently owned and operated by local small business owners. The upscale nature of Kid to Kid sets them apart from thrift stores because Kid to Kid only buys, sells, and trades current baby equipment, clothing and fashion seen at retail stores in the previous 18 to 24 months. For more information, please visit Kid2KidDFW.com.

MEDIA CONTACT
Rose Tring
Phoenix PR & Marketing
[email protected]
602-373-8371