The high overhead of a brick-and-mortar shop had gotten too high, so Cindy Palmreuter closed up her store,
Double Take Resale, and will take it on the road in true gypsy style this summer.
Palmreuter bought a U-Haul truck and converted it to a mobile shop that offers boys' and girls' fashions, shoes, and accessories for pre-teens, teens, and young adults.
"If you're not making sales, why just sit there waiting for your customers?" Palmreuter says. "Why not go to where your customers are? Put calendars out there on your website, Twitter, and Facebook. Customers can see where the truck will be that day or the next week. It's exciting."
Double Take Resale joins a growing trend for pop-up shops and mobile retail, according to a new organization,
The American Mobile Retail Association.
While Palmreuter hasn't applied for temporary sales licenses in any cities yet, she is busy researching the mobile retail movement, determining the requirements in different areas, and getting her truck outfitted and stocked. She hopes to inspire likeminded entrepreneurs to work together and set up mobile shopping centers around the region as a means of using and revitalizing vacant commercial properties.
Her research centers on small West Michigan cities from Dorr to Big Rapids, including Rockford, Cedar Springs, and Fremont.
Palmreuter also plans to take her truck to the people who have clothes to sell her, instead of making people come to her shop. She'll go to their homes by appointment and on their schedules.
You can follow Double Take Resale's progress and sales calendar on the web
here or on Facebook
here.
Source: Cindy Palmreuter, Double Take Resale
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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