OUR STORY

We started with our first retail shop over 18 years ago. We then expanded to 6 other locations, testing out the market and demand of our product. In order to insure a great supply of vintage clothing for our retailers we sold off most of our locations, held onto our flagship spot, and began to focus on wholesaling. Since then we have helped friend’s open shops around the US. We have come up with a formula that has proven to work in almost any market.

With retail markups being some of the highest in the industry, Opening a vintage clothing store can be a very lucrative investment. Unfortunately with the economy being the way it is there are many risks to opening a business. Gathering as much information on suppliers and current markets can be very beneficial to the success of a new business.

Although we can provide you with all the information needed to open and run a successful looking shop, your shop’s success will lie on your will and determination. The options on the next page are different areas that we have helped out others before. You may need more or less involvement from us. This is up to you. Please feel free to fill out this questioner and leave us a little information on the type of service you think may work out best for you. We look forward to hearing from you.

Our desire is to educate people about sustainable business and lifestyles. The daily operations are easy by comparison with a minimal number of employees and relaxed business hours.

Good Luck in your Venture

Pura Vida,

Rick Coburn | FACTORY VINTAGE

Timeline

70’s & 80’s

I grew up in Southern California, a younger brother that had to wear my older brothers hand me downs, it didn’t matter if I liked it or not. My dad was pretty crafty on the sewing machine so I learned quick how to fix or adjust things to make them fit.

My family had a ministry collecting used clothing and taking them down to distribute among orphanages and villages in Baja California, about a 3 hour drive from where I grew up. For most of my childhood our garage and greenhouses were full of clothing that my mom and dad were collecting through donation centers and their church.

Once a month we would sort the clothing into different grades so that they had categories for men, women’s, boys, girls and infants. From an early start I learned about collecting and sorting used clothing.

In the 90's

Starting an Internet Cafe in the Jungle

The first business I started was a small coffee shop that served breakfast in a tiny beach town in Costa Rica. I took a sabbatical from my studies after a couple of years of college to travel and learn Spanish. I got job as a short line cook to support my journey and immediately saw a market space for travelers looking for access to email. This was in the mid 90’s and email was starting to come on the scene strong for travelers who were accustomed to long distance toll fees as the only other option to snail mail to communicate home.

I eventually purchased the business and imported three desktop computers to re-brand as the Blue Maxx internet Cafe. I opened the first internet cafe in Tamarindo, which has since grown to be one of the number one tourist destinations in Costa Rica. When it was time to return to the states I sold the business to open a vintage clothing store in Dallas, Texas.

 

Starting a Vintage Store in Texas

One of the advantages to having the only internet cafe in town was that I got to meet a lot of interesting people and entrepreneurs. I was particularly fond of a customer that supplied vintage clothing to retail stores in the US. Because of the demand for old clothing from the US in other countries, he had developed a formula that would maximize profits from used clothing in both domestic and international markets.

It took a year in half to create a business plan, secure funding, a location and everything else that goes into launching a retail business. In 2000 I opened Counter Culture, my first brick and mortar retail location in the Deep Ellum district of Dallas Texas. I hired a qualified sales team and manager that allowed me to grow the concept into new markets.

Before starting a second location I secured a product stream. In 2002 I partnered with my supplier and moved to San Diego, Ca and took over as Marketing and Brand Director for the growing wholesale company.

2000-2005

The Move into Wholesale

I purchased into a small wholesale company that  began to define the way vintage clothing would be sold and resold on a bulk level.   At the time, if you wanted to supply a store you were going to have spend hours at a thrift stores or estate sales sourcing your goods. There were a few vintage dealers that were selling their goods to the Japanese market, but they were selling at retail prices. Over the next nine years our team began changing the way vintage clothing would be supplied to buyers on a global level.

The next five years I developed a digital first business strategy that grew the business by +300%. I established Dust Factory as the leader in an industry we were pioneering by developing an online presence that grew the brand into international markets.

On the retail side we expanded to six locations with two warehouses for distribution. We also developed employee manuals and business plans that helped others start shops of their own.

In 2007 I sold off the retail divisions to work full time on the distribution. Having secured a steady client base I partnered with vendors relieving sourcing conflicts to focus on product branding and lead generation.

Branding is crucial with used clothing. To the laymen, these were old clothes, but to our tribe it was a one-of-kind piece of history with more value than anything new or contemporary. To establish our message I produced content and digital media strategies which would optimize lead generation and goal completion in line with the company’s KPIs to deliver maximum ROI.

I would continuously improve campaign effectiveness through testing and performance analysis to ensure a consistent experience through-out the acquisition funnel in multiple channels.


One of the mailers and warehouse showrooms

The automation of the process relived much of our overhead which freed up my time to teach other businesses how they could use digital marketing to help their organizations grow.

2006

Creating a Formula

We passed our retail formula on to some friends who began opening vintage clothing stores of there very own. The formula in its simplest form was a success for them. As our team began to grow, so did our reach out into different markets and our ability to  understand  how the overall consumer shopped and thought. We began developing more detailed marketing plans, employee sales  incentives, events and a way to share this information between the other shop owners.  Little did we know at the time, but we were slowly putting together the manual on How to Open and Operate a Successful Vintage Clothing Store.

2010

Putting it all together

We began sorting all of the information that we had gathered over the years i.e.documents, numbers, schedules, notes, images, press releases, business plans and more, in an attempt to start putting together a manual on How to Open and Operate a Successful Vintage Clothing Store.

Present

Helping Others Grow

Having been a surfer most of my life I had a number of friends in the action sports industry both on the creative and marketing side. I began building digital marketing strategies for a number of established brands and ones just entering the market.

Since 2007 I have been developing and implementing global marketing strategies across multiple technology platforms in both the B2B and B2C arenas. I produce segmentation strategies and messaging specific to key verticals with lead generation programs for different brands and GTM firms. I specialize in executing digital first business strategies and roadmaps; client relationship LifeCycle management along with agile team/organization professional performance assessments.

As a marketing consultant I am able to travel and work from anywhere that has an internet connection. In 2011 I relocated with my family to Costa Rica to work abroad. As my young family grew in the jungle I managed my wholesale company and clients while building a sustainable agriculture business with a partner. I spent much of my time growing food in the morning, and growing business online in the heat of the day.

Open A Vintage StoreWe have come up with a formula that is transferable to almost anyone who wants to get in to the Vintage Retail Market.

With retail mark ups being the highest in the clothing industry, opening a vintage clothing store is an excellent business venture. If being your own boss and working in this profitable, fun environment appeals to you, Click Here for more information.

DISCLAIMER

Unfortunately with the economy being the way it is there are many risks to opening a business. Gathering as much information on suppliers and current markets can be very beneficial to the success of a new business. Although we can provide you with all the information needed to open and run a successful looking shop, your shop’s success will lie on your will and determination.