Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Morales.
Melissa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
At the age of 15, I got a spring break job at Finders Keepers in Avondale Estates, Decatur and after a week I was hooked. I found my passion in doing the displays. At the age of 19, a mere few months from graduating with a full BA from AIU in Graphic Design I dropped out and purchased BBPD, Inc which at the time was located in downtown Lilburn. The building was almost 100 years old and located in a historic part of Gwinnett and had been around since 1980. I purchased the store in October of 2002 right after 9/11 and had no idea of the climate of the economy. I had no idea what a PNL was or a spreadsheet – since I had been immersed in the world of ART and design. It was a tough first year as many people do not like change, customers and employees alike and being so young many people bet I would fail in the first year. It was scary and eye opening and made me grow up quickly.
In 2004, I moved the store to the main drag which was Lawrenceville Highway into a 2-store space that was 3 times the rent and less space than I had. Within a year, I moved to the other side of the building which was 3,200 sq. feet and by 2008, I had purchased the shopping center and by 2010 had taken over the whole space as my store. In 2010, we opened Forever Young which was a juniors/prom version of what we did in the women’s side in the 2-story building. While successful it quickly morphed into something much bigger that no one anticipated which was prom, pageant and evening wear which is what now is housed in all 2200 sq. feet of the 2-store building. We are the largest prom resale store in the southeast and have an inventory of over 2200 dresses at any given time with new ones coming in daily. We are best known for our massive selection and great array of plus prom 16-28. Since we do it year-round we accept year-round which gives us a never-ending stream of product.
(In 2012, we blew through the wall and connected the 2 buildings making it one MASSIVE shopping experience)
Connected to the prom 2 story part is the women’s store which is broken into three sections, plus, juniors and ladies. That store is 5000 sq. feet and on an average day we look through 1200-1500 pieces and usually accept and process about 350-400 a day giving it fresh inventory hourly. We pride ourselves on having a large selection in each size and category so that when you make the trip out you don’t feel like it was a waste of time.
In 2008, with the economy crashing and little money to spend on advertising I started Atlanta Consignment Stores which was a full-scale website describing and show insider pictures to the Atlanta area and surrounding cities what fabulous stores we have here and who was behind the door per say. I also started doing bus tours which means on a scheduled Saturday I would take 55 other savvy shoppers and tour consignment stores from 9am-5pm it was fast and furious and now we sell the bus tours out usually within 24 hours. Since the inception of ACS, we have done over 50 tours.
In 2011, I opened another location in East Cobb, Marietta on Johnson Ferry which was a 950-sq. foot store – it allowed me to get back to my roots and work it without employees and just enjoy “banker’s hours” and getting to know a whole new group of customers. That quickly morphed into another expansion and in 2012 we took over the space located next door and now house 2200 sq. feet of designer fashions and accessories. The biggest benefit to the multiple stores is the selection and constant change of inventory. When we process items we immediately dictate which store and department it will best be sold in and also process items for our online store as well. So, items can be moving at lightening pace and between locations giving them the best visibility and opportunity to sell. We average an 85% sell through rate in the first 30 days. We are very selective with what we accept and are known to be picky which means our customers get the best selections. Condition, brand and age is KEY in how we accept. Every season we have a meeting and process reports to see what is selling and what has to go – but its shifts just like fashion quickly. For example, with the “leggings” craze and massive companies such as lulu roe popping up we have seen a decline in bottom sells and an increase in tops and dresses so we currently are being extra selective with these.
Other fun facts:
We do 1 or 2 $1.00 sales a year and we are known for these since we have been doing them since 2002.
We donate the proceeds to charities that are small mom and pops and not run by government agencies so we know the money is going to be used for what they actually say they will. I have a huge heart for animals and do a lot in dog rescue so many of our sales proceeds go to that. The largest sale to date had over 20,000 pieces in it – we sold out in 3 hours and had over 1200 people in line before we opened.
In between I have been married, divorced had two children and rotated too many rescue dogs to count.
I hate laundry and I hate to shop – to me comfort is key and I will spend more anyway on my bicycle or my dogs than a designer purse. But I love putting together outfits and wardrobes for clients and my passion is cleaning out closets and doing estates.
Has it been a smooth road?
Is there any such thing as a smooth road and being a business owner? LOL
No. Thank goodness because every bump, hurdle, frustration and moment of desperation pushed me further, harder and outside my comfort zone. Some of my best ideas have come from points of desperation or while working out. I love swimming & cycling and find that when I “zone” I can think outside the box.
Struggles are part of the world of being an owner but I am blessed to spend a lot of time praying and have a great support system and friends who understand and if they don’t – they pretend!
In retrospect, what I would have loved to have had was a business degree as it would have saved me a lot of money and stress since I got the privilege of learning through trial and era.
The older I get the more I realize I have no IDEA.
If you’re in business be willing to change on the fly or you will fade away.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think there are pro’s and con’s to opening a store in a big or central city. The benefit is that there are A LOT of people and that means lots of inventory – the downside is that there are a lot of people and similar stores already open. At last count Atlanta had over 110 consignment/resale stores – that’s a lot of selection and a lot of competition. The amazing thing is that every 3 miles the demographics change – this is a hot topic many store owners here talk about and it amazes us how we can all be similar yet out clients all want different things.
I know many store owners who are located in more rural towns and areas who have found it to be wildly successful since they are the only ones – think WALMART in the county – there is a reason they open in random places.
If you are starting out do your research and be realistic and join organizations like NARTS -it’s worth its wait in gold!
Pricing:
- Our prom dresses range $99-350
- Our average item is $10
- We price our items at 50-75% off of retail
Contact Info:
- Address: 4915 Lawrenceville Hwy Lilburn Ga 30047
1255 Johnson Ferry Rd Marietta Ga 30068 - Website: www.bbpdconsignment.com
- Phone: 770-923-2968 770-971-4750
- Email: bican95@yahoo.com
- Instagram: atlantaconsignmentstores
- Facebook: bbpdconsignment
