Uptown Cheapskate

Uptown Cheapskate is an upscale retailer with a twist. The first Uptown Cheapskate store opened in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2008. Now, the company has more than 75 locations across the country. The business is family-owned and anchors around a solid reseller clothing concept that allows customers to purchase near-new fashion items at thrift prices. Instead of following the traditional method of consigning clothes, the store buys lightly used fashion garments and accessories and sells them for a fraction of their regular prices. 

Why You May Want to Start an Uptown Cheapskate Franchise

If you're a franchisee looking to provide a service to your community, Uptown Cheapskate may be the investment for you. The concept is a fantastic way to recycle clothes, keeping them out of landfills. It also helps communities save cash. Additionally, the store supports school-building initiatives in developing countries through bi-annual sales.

Uptown Cheapskate has also established a business model that keeps the store easy to manage, scalable, and sustainable outside its social value. The company strives to provide top-tier support for franchisees, ensuring they get all the help they need from day one. Because of this, a franchisee doesn't need experience in retail, just a willingness to work within the company's model and a passion for their business.

The culture of Uptown Cheapskate revolves around giving back. Because of this, the company encourages franchisees to choose the local charities their store supports.

What Might Make Uptown Cheapskate a Good Choice?

Multiple times in the past few years, Uptown Cheapskate has been ranked in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 based on an evaluation of more than 150 data points in the areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. 

Just because Uptown Cheapskate is an upscale retail franchise doesn't mean it's expensive to own. In fact, Uptown Cheapskate is one of the cheaper brands in the resale business. A franchisee may take advantage of these lower costs and a resale industry that may exceed the fashion industry over time. 

How to Open an Uptown Cheapskate Franchise

To be part of the Uptown Cheapskate team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment, including a franchise fee and potential startup fees. Franchisees should also expect to contend with royalty fees and advertising fees, as well as a potential renewal fee.

Consider the location in which you'd want to open your Uptown Cheapskate. If there are income discrepancies in your area, it may be nice to provide part of the community with a more affordable retail option. Millennials and Gen Z are making strides to reduce the fashion impact on the environment. With this effort, they are buying more second-hand clothing options. Because of this, you may find success near a university campus, where students may not be making full-time income.

Once you have decided the franchise is right for you and they see you have the financial background they're looking for, you will go through a thorough training program. It won't be until you complete inventory training that you'll be able to open the doors to your franchise.