Dena Dougherty laughs as she refers to the neighborhood around her used children’smerchandise business, Once Upon a Child, as “the recycle block.”
Within walking distance of the Gavora Mall store are a handful of other stores based on that approach to retail sales — Play it Again Sports, Designer’s Closet, Mommy & Me Consignment and others. In other parts of town, stores like Value Village and the Salvation Army Thrift Shop are operating. The businesses all have something in common — they take used items and resell them at less-than-new prices. The appetite for used children’s clothing, in particular, seems to be huge.
When Once Upon a Child held its grand opening on Aug. 27, Dougherty said about 100 people lined up outside before the doors opened. “It kind of seems like it’s built for success in a good or bad economy,” said Toby Dougherty, Dena’s husband and co-owner of Once Upon a Child. Just across the street, Mommy & Me Consignment has offered maternity and children’s wear for four years. But co-owner Sheri Rourke said she’s seen more customers during the past year, when the economy began to struggle. “There’s always been interest in this, but especially now,” she said. But there’s more than just the lure of low prices attracting customers.
In Fairbanks, merchants and shoppers say there simply isn’t much selection for children or pregnant women. Nichole Gentz-Wilkins opened Bellies & Babies, a store that offers consignment maternity wear, after too many frustrating shopping trips. When she was pregnant, there didn’t seem to be many opportunities to buy clothing, so she set up her own shop. “There weren’t any resources in town for that kind of thing,” said Gentz-Wilkins, who offers maternity clothes. The newest addition to Fairbanks is Once Upon a Child, which is a franchise of a national company with about 250 stores. The stores offer used and new items for infants through pre-teens.
The Doughertys dove into the business hard, with a 7,500-square-foot location that is one of the five largest stores among the Once Upon a Child franchises. They say it’s been packed since opening day. The Dougherty's are firm believers in the resale concept — they also own Play It Again Sports, which sells used sporting goods. Toby said they were motivated to open a Once Upon a Child store soon after their 4-year-old son Jake was born, and they found themselves driving to Anchorage in search of a crib mattress. “The struggles of finding things here were hard,” Toby said. “He’s kind of the main reason we’re doing this.”
Sarah Kvasnicka, who shops regularly at used-clothing stores, said she also was attracted to the approach after spending too much time looking online for basic children’s items. She managed to pick up a year’s worth of clothes for her 18-month-old son Alek during a stop at Once Upon a Child, at a cost of less than $100. “It’s just saving me a lot of money and time,” she said. Instead of scouring garage sales and looking online, Kvasnicka said one trip per week to a used-clothing store takes care of everything. She has another child due in February and has shopped ahead for items like clothes and a car seat.
And while adults might not always embrace used items, Toby Dougherty said kids don’t seem to have any problem with them at all. “Kids are so great,” Toby said. “They’re always excited to get something. And If you can pay less for it, then why not?”