Winmark Corporation, North America’s leading franchisor of sustainable resale brands Once Upon A Child®, Plato’s Closet®, Play It Again Sports®, Music Go Round® and Style Encore®, reports a great start to the first half of the year with 21 new signed franchise agreements and 29 openings across all five brands.
As the $17.5 billion resale industry continues to grow, Winmark’s resale brands will continue to defy the odds and grow to meet the increasing demand for quality used, secondhand products. In fact, Winmark’s resale brands have recycled over 1.4 billion items since 2010, with 158 million recycled per year, and 432,000 per day.
Plato’s Closet, Play It Again Sports, and Once Upon A Child were recently ranked in the annual Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500. Once Upon A Child even ranked No. 1 in the Children’s Retail category for the twelfth year in a row.
Winmark has solidified its strong position by delivering consumers an experience that is unparalleled in the resale space. The company’s commitment to sustainability and providing quality used merchandise in a clean, welcoming environment sets it apart from other resale concepts and has proven to be a key driver in both consumer and franchise growth, as many of its franchisees were customers prior to opening their own stores.
“Customers are looking for local, sustainable options to sell their quality used items, get paid immediately, and receive great value in return. All of our brands meet those needs,” said Renae Gaudette, Chief Operating Officer for Winmark Corporation.