Racks in Goodwill’s Classic Closet Draped in Class Not Yet Worn Thin
The two women were horrified when they spotted clothes that looked a bit, well, lived-in, while browsing at San Clemente’s new Classic Closet.
They complained. And they were right.
But nobody at the tiny boutique did anything about it--except start a formal practice of telling customers right away that not much in the store is new.
The Classic Closet, after all, is a Goodwill outlet--one that specializes in mostly recycled, high-class clothes at bargain prices.
The idea is for Goodwill to keep profits that other secondhand retailers had been making by reselling goods they bought at Goodwill outlets.
Officials with Goodwill Industries of Orange County know that “at least 11” retailers of used goods have been stocking their racks with Goodwill’s finest, said Connemara Reisinger, Goodwill’s vice president of marketing.
Sized Up the Market
“We kept seeing people come in, scooping up big armfuls of certain types of items--vintage clothes, fine fabrics, Levis. And we thought: ‘Gee, why don’t we do this ourselves?’ ”
Orange County is a prime spot for resellers of quality castoffs. “The wealthiest donors in the world live in this county,” and the donations Goodwill receives reflect that, Reisinger said.
So three months ago, the private, nonprofit corporation began culling its contributions for designer discards with magic labels or fine-quality names: Bullock’s, JW Robinson’s, Albert Nipon, Oscar de la Renta, Gucci and Jones of New York.
The stock, all cleaned and inspected for wear and tear, was held out of the regular secondhand stores and earmarked for the new outlet in San Clemente, which on Thursday officially became the third recherche reseller in the Goodwill network. The others are in Palm Beach, Fla., and Spokane, Wash.
In Orange County, most of the designer goods are pulled from 22 Goodwill donation stations scattered throughout the area, or from pickups made at private homes.
Additionally, major retailers and manufacturers contribute new items--about 30% of the merchandise at the San Clemente outlet are imperfect goods, last year’s fashions or threads that once graced window mannequins.
For 1987, Goodwill hopes that segregating designer label clothing at its Classic Closet boutique will increase total revenue in Orange County by 4%, or at least $200,000.
The county’s 12 Goodwill secondhand stores generated $6 million in revenue last year--an average of $500,000 per store--from sales of clothing, furniture, appliances, toys, tools, sporting goods and designer wear.
Goodwill’s 1,034 secondhand stores in the rest of the United States and Canada had total revenue of $203 million in 1985, for an average of $196,325 per store.
The Classic Closet will make its money using a very different sort of appeal than the typical Goodwill outlet, some of which price garments at $1.10 per pound.
When people hear Goodwill, they “have a picture of a rag-and-bag operation,” Reisinger said.
But the merchandise at the San Clemente store is upscale, so the store has a spiffy, $40,000 decorating job with pink carpeting, wicker furniture and oak trim set off by soft spotlighting.
Copies of Elle and Vogue are scattered on tables in the entry.
And instead of an auto body shop or a gas station next door, Classic Closet’s neighbor is another “thrift” store--Assured Thrift & Loan--where shoppers just might be able to finance an armload of secondhand Gucci purses.
Fancy labels usually conjure up high prices.
But at Goodwill’s top-of-the-line boutique, Gucci bags can go for $40--instead of the $150-$200 shoppers would pay at the original retailer. Cashmere sweaters that retail new for at least $100 are ticketed at about $40. Evan-Picone suits and other major label apparel are about half the original price.
Designer gowns by Yves St. Laurent or Mr. Blackwell sell for about $100.
But the dramatically slashed prices are not enough for some savvy shoppers.
Susan Ewers of Dana Point, for instance, comparison-shopped a denim pants suit that Classic Closet priced at $34. “I saw the same thing last week at a consignment store for $20. . . . So some of it is higher priced.”
Still, Ewers found a Geoffrey Beene sweater for $22 that she guessed would fetch $50 at Nordstrom or Neiman-Marcus Co. “And here’s a 100% silk Liz Claiborne pants suit for $17, so some things are real good. . . .”
Another shopper, Vycki Kenworthy, a Hickory, N.C., saleswoman on vacation, made a second trip to Classic Closet last week after spending $175 on her first visit for a suit and seven dresses--two of them brand new.
