Sandra Rossi went from the mall at 16 to buying and product development at Salomon, North Face, Eastern Mountain Sports, and Nike. Then she opened We Thieves, a vintage store in Cambridge, MA. Eight years in.
Jason breaks down how it works:
- Sourcing through wholesalers, rag houses, estate sales, and flea markets
- Vintage margins of 68 to 70%, around 3x cost
- $45K to $50K at retail on hand, with 15 to 20% turned in a month
- Open to buy when you can’t guarantee what you’ll find
- Why a small footprint worked, and why she closed her second store
- Selling through fit, styling, and fitting rooms
- Marketing without paid ads
Her checklist for opening a store: love retail, keep rent low, nail your sourcing, know your numbers.
Thank you to Sandra and the We Thieves team. Find them at https://wethieves.com or on Instagram at https://instagram.com/wethieves. The store is at 1735 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, MA, open daily 11 to 6.
More at https://AnonymousRetailer.com
