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Business & Tech

Sack's Thrift Avenue Redefines Thrifty Spending

Duluth store in Peachtree Hill Shopping Center first of many planned for metro Atlanta and beyond.

 

Owners of the new Sack’s Thrift Avenue store in Duluth are working to change the traditional “thrift store” shopping experience.

Sack's CEO Michael O’Kane explained that one of his company’s objectives is developing a better understanding of “thrift” by overcoming its stigmas.

“There is an immediate association that it’s all been used or it’s all donated and it should be written with a grease pencil for $1.51,” said O’Kane, who comes from a corporate banking background. “Thrift is using your money wisely and spending it with frugality.”

And Sack’s has a growing audience as a steady stream of bargain buyers discover the store in the Peachtree Hill Shopping Center on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard near the Kroger.

To assist with their re-invention goals, Sack’s organizers are trying new tactics while crafting their own business objectives.

The 45,000 square feet of showroom space offers merchandise ranging from bargains to antiques. Some of the bigger ticket items are displayed in a separate section called the Avenues that includes higher-end home furnishings, collectibles and antiques set in real-world vignettes of dining rooms, bedrooms and offices.

“We have a little bit of everything for everyone – mild to wild and whatever in between,” said Cobb County resident O’Kane. “We've got items that are 10 cents to north of $10,000. We’ve got what you would need to outfit your house under one roof.”

The Sack’s inventory is obtained from wholesale and commercial auctions, bank and insurance liquidations, and estate sales. These finds allow Sack’s to provide quality merchandise and a shopping experience that is unlike other discounters.
 
“We wanted that higher-end store feel without the higher-end store prices," O’Kane said. “We’re anywhere from 30 to 60 percent less than retail new or fair market value for antiques and collectibles.”

Ken Matthes, Sack’s executive vice president of operations, said all of the merchandise is carefully evaluated and prepped before reaching the sales floor.

“All of the clothes are laundered and washed before being hung up,” said Matthes, who also calls Cobb County home. "All of the sofas and chairs are professionally steam cleaned and deodorized. All of the wood is repaired.”

Sack’s COO Wes Gore is in charge of buying, which can sometimes mirror reality television shows like “Storage Wars.”

Gore, who has life-long connections to Gwinnett, said he started investigating auction sales as a hobby more than a year ago to learn the bidding and buying process.

While auction procedures are like those seen on television, the outcome usually differs. “It’s not what they make it out to be,” Gore said. “I wish I could open a unit and find in it what they find in it every time.”

O’Kane added that some of what happens on television programs is more along scripted lines than what occurs in reality. “There has to be some sensationalism there,” O’Kane said. “Any of the auctions that we’ve gone to or the units we’ve looked at are never as pretty as they are on TV.”

Gore has managed to secure more than 100,000 square feet of merchandise for the Sack’s corporate offices in Buford. Their plan is to roll out three to five more stores throughout metro Atlanta before the end of the year.

“Thrift is going to be one of the bigger businesses over the next five years, and it may go beyond that,” Gore said. “With the economy the way it is, if you can buy slightly used for half or more off, why not do it?”

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