Cheap-Chic Thrives in AZ

My Sister's Closet is the creme de la crwme of designer recycled boutiques. Stylish and price-savvy women have been raiding My Sister's Closet for the past 18 years to find their favorite labels including Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Hermes, Juicy, Vivienne Tam and other exclusive brands. The retailer offers these luxury brands at prices 60 to 95 percent below retail.

 In 1991, Ann Siner, CEO and founder, along with her sister Jenny Siner opened their first designer consignment store, a 1,200-square-foot boutique in the Town & Country mall in Phoenix, Arizona. The high-end consignment boutique quickly caught the attention of many Arizona locals and has since blossomed into 11 stores in metro Phoenix: My Sister's Attic offers recycled home furnishings, Well Suited sells designer men's apparel, and Small Change offers an array of "kids stuff." The merchandise selection is ever-changing with more than 500 new items joining each closet location each day.

Since opening its doors, the retailer has built an impressive database of more than 66,000 consigners. Consigners are given 55 percent of the item's selling price towards in-store credit or 45 percent of the selling price in cash. Cash is distributed to the consigner as soon as their items sell. When items don't sell in 60-90 days, they are donated to thrift stores or non-profits that benefit homeless pets and women's groups.

Since 100 percent of its inventory is consigned, Eco-Chic, which is the corporate name for all four brands, once was challenged to improve data quality and inventory management while providing its customers with a quick and accurate transaction process. Eco-Chic needed the ability to view all of its customer (consignor) account details, such as purchase history, items consigned, payouts and balances in real-time at all store and corporate office locations.

Eco-Chic's previous software slowed the sales process, delivered marginal service, and could not be locked down. "We once faced a huge challenge with our custom-built software," says Siner. "No one really knew how it worked and we were being charged an exorbitant rate."

After six months of pilot testing, the retailer ultimately selected IBM SurePOS 300 Express and SurePOS 500, part of IBM's Retail Anywhere suite of products, to improve day-to-day operations and customer service levels. Eco-Chic also is pleased with the physical security that the integrated SurePOS solution provides them.

With real-time detail, Eco-Chic can now accurately track and pay consignors on a daily basis. Since using its new POS system, the retailer has increased the efficiency of employees, shortened customer wait times and increased satisfaction levels. Increased efficiencies also have provided more time for the retailer to research business trends as well as identify fraud.

"Our business has been booming this year and sales have increased 20 percent year-over-year, which is quite remarkable for an 18-year-old company," says Siner. "We largely attribute Retail Anywhere for facilitating this kind of growth."