Winmark Corporation-owned women’s resale concept Style Encore will launch its first Canadian store location next year, and the company is actively seeking franchisees for more than 40 territories nationally.
Style Encore caters to women in their late 20’s and upwards, selling gently-used clothing, footwear, handbags and accessories. Fashions range from casual to dressy, with Style Encore buying items that have been in retail stores within the past couple of years in order to reflect current trends. Unlike consignment, Style Encore pays cash on the spot for items it wants for its stores, and walk-ins are welcome. Style Encore stocks a variety of women’s sizes, ranging from size 0 to 4X. The company also makes it clear that it doesn’t sell counterfeits, and takes measures to ensure brand authenticity.
The company’s first Canadian store will open in the spring of 2017 in Guelph, Ontario, in unit 4 of the strip retail plaza at 170 Silvercreek Parkway North. Style Encore prefers retail locations with easy vehicle access, for the convenience of both consumers and product deliveries. Because of this, strip malls and similar retail environments are preferred.
Winmark Corporation is seeking Canadian franchisees for its Style Encore expansion. There are currently 40 territories open in Canada for Style Encore franchisees. The company has signed agreements for various sites, so the company is not soliciting sites from landlords at this time. The company utilizes Aurora Realty Consultants as its Canadian brokerage.
Minneapolis-based Winmark specializes in developing franchises for retail stores that buy, sell and trade new and used merchandise. It’s the parent company to retail concepts Plato’s Closet, Once Upon A Child, Play It Again Sports, Music Go Round, Style Encore, Wirth Business Credit and Winmark Capital. All focus on different demographics but adhere to the same frugal concept of ‘sell.buy.repeat’. The company’s retail brands have in excess of 1,150 franchised operations in North America with over $1 billion in sales, and it continues to expand rapidly. Winmark first entered the Toronto market in 1993 with the opening of a Play It Again Sports store in Whitby.
