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MINDING YOUR
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| LAND
OF ODDS By Leila Marija Ugincius |
Entering Showcase is
like riding in a time machine. The
82,000-square-foot store in Richmond transports
customers back to their wide-eyed childhoods,
where everything is big, bright and whimsical. |
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Showcase
buys store displays and fixtures from department
stores like Nordstrom and Macy's and then sells
them to the public. It stocks everything from
seasonal displays to one-of-a-kind fixtures. Need
a giant fluorescent pink bust of Beethoven? What
about a 10-foot teddy bear? Showcase, one of
seven stores nationwide, is the retail arm of
Richmond-based United American Cos. The company's
strategy -- to buy from the big boys and sell to
the small fries -- appears to be working. Its
stores have increased sales by an average of 22
percent over the past year. This year the company
hopes to gross about $9 million in sales
nationwide, up from $5 million last year. |
| "It's a win-win
situation," says Jack Blackwell, president
and CEO of United American. Nina Polm, marketing director for Regency Square mall in Richmond, describes the Showcase concept as "fabulous." "I've been in the shopping center business for 20 years now, and it's difficult to sell something used at another shopping center," she says. Polm likes to recycle and reuse displays as often as possible, as well as donate items, but "some things are just too massive to donate to a church or school." The store resells its wares for up to 70 percent off the original price, something customers like Jimmy Sneed, chef and owner of The Frog and the Redneck restaurant in Richmond, appreciate. Sneed says he didn't know what to expect from his first visit to Showcase, which is in an old Civil War hospital. But he figured that "buried amongst crap, you're always going to find jewels." The chef was surprised by what he found. "It's all cool," he says. "If this were New York, I'd say, 'Only in New York.' I was amazed they had that kind of stuff here in Richmond."
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