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Fourteen years ago, when Karen Brown was shopping at Granny's, a consignment shop in Nanticoke, "Granny" told her, "Karen, this is a great business to be in."
Granny was right. And three successful consignment stores on Main Street in Luzerne - Baby and Beyond, My Sister's Closet, and My Teen's Closet - are proof. All three are owned and managed by Brown, with the help of her two daughters, Nicole and Brittany.
Having grown up in the Back Mountain, Brown remembers shopping with her mother at The Globe store in Luzerne. Then everything shut down.
"It was a ghost town," said Brown. "There was just nothing there, nothing."
Brown operated her first consignment baby line from the storefront of her husband's Wilkes-Barre business, and then moved it to Kingston for seven years. But by the year 2000, due to Mayor Keller's revitalization of downtown Luzerne, the "ghost town" transformed into a thriving community.
"I saw the traffic coming through there and all the work Jim was doing as mayor," said Brown. "It was a family-oriented town. I wanted to be part of that, so I decided to bring my shop over."
Brown opened Baby and Beyond on Main Street and shortly afterward purchased My Sister's Closet, expanding into the women's clothing line.Since Nicole Perry, Karen's married daughter, learned the business firsthand, she took over the management of Baby and Beyond, while Brown ran the women's shop across the street. Brittany, then sixteen, wasn't interested in either baby or women's merchandise; she had a teen's store in mind. In 2005, the family opened My Teen's Closet on a nearby corner, and Brittany now manages it on her own, while also pursuing business studies in college.
"I'm so blessed to have the girls down there with me," said Brown. "They're independent, capable, and responsible. I'm even able to call them and ask for advice now! I'm so proud."
The family-operated business has benefits for everyone involved.
"Our children were raised in it," stated Brown. "A job was always available to them, first part-time and then full-time. I didn't force them to stay working in it, but they've wanted to. You can depend on your family. We cover for each other, so there's flexibility."
Brown believes that owning the businesses has provided innumerable opportunities to teach her children the values of honesty, hard work, and good relationships.
"When they were little, they were always with me in the shop, and I had to think about how I handled a problem in front of them," explained Brown.
All three agree on the biggest benefit of owning a consignment business: the merchandise.
"I can't tell you the money it's saved me over the years to be able to shop at my own place," said Brown. "We're our own best shoppers; it is so fun to see the quality stuff that comes into our stores!"
Are there any disadvantages to being in business together?
"I'm probably harder on the girls than I would be on someone else," said Brown. "And I'm always trying to teach them a lesson, which I know gets old after awhile. But overall, we have a good relationship."
Brown's relationships with her customers are very important to her
as well.
"We enjoy our customers," said Brown. "We have so many regulars that we know what day it is by who comes in. If they don't show up, we worry about them. People just sometimes need to talk, and when they come in, I like to chat with them."
Personal touch, combined with good management and a high standard for merchandise, has made all three consignment stores a valuable asset to Luzerne's business community. With a shop for each of the women to run, do the Browns have future plans?
"Our main focus is on the town and keeping it built up," said Brown.
However, she does have a younger son named Cody...
Who knows? |
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