Innovation

Innovation

Consignments are high-end designer resale stores specializing in one-of-a-kind, vintage, and high-quality items. Francesca Laurenzi, the consignment store owner, specializes in high-end shops and labels, including Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Christian Dior, and others. Consignment shops are generally found in less populated areas without many luxury brand stores. People typically love entering the store, browsing the selections, striking up a conversation, and making a purchase. Consignment stores cater to consumers who appreciate luxury items but reside in more remote areas because these premium businesses need brick-and-mortar locations everywhere to reach the public.

Since they must uphold their image, luxury firms with extensive inventories are forced to sell their products at full price rather than on sale or at a discount. Many of these stores burn their products or dump them in landfills, which is not sustainable for the environment; however, Laurenzi's business prioritizes and sustains steadfast ties with its customers. She remarked, "When people want something, I make a note of it…they are thrilled to death to hear…" and they always tell her, "oh my god, you remembered, you have it, and they come right over and buy it." This pertains to sustainability because these businesses typically discard their stock when there is no demand; however, Laurenzi demonstrates a better and more sustainable way by offering high-quality products. She maintains a good relationship with her customers, contributing to her success in managing the store and being environmentally friendly.

Moving along, not only does she sell high-quality clothing, but she also stays connected with her community. She stated that there is a local food pantry called "The Boonton Food Pantry," and she gives back every time around the holidays. Her reasoning is that "it's a time that people have so much but it is also a time when those who don't have very much, it gets really highlighted." Laurenzi also mentioned that she knew a lady who ran a social services division in Boonton and believed that was an excellent charity to support. She also runs her biggest sale for her store in January after the holidays, and many people donate to the food charity. Even customers who end up not buying anything from the store still support the charity because of their close connection to Laurenzi. All of the money that is being donated goes to charity, and Laurenzi is still able to be profitable.

Inspiration

Inspiration

Laurenzi grew up in Boonton to an American mother, however, her father was an Italian immigrant. Laurenzi explained how growing up with an Italian father introduced European customs that were not as prevalent in the United States. Laurenzi describes her upbringing by saying, "The American culture is much like buy, buy, buy, have a lot of stuff. I didn't grow up like that. I'm the 8th of 10 children. We weren't poor, but we weren't rich." She continues by saying, "As a kid, I got my clothes at Saks. We were not rich, but, we bought quality things. And I learned at a very young age, my father's mentality, buy better things, buy fewer of them, and have them for a long time." Laurenzi's upbringing influenced her consumption of clothes and her mentality of how intentionally we should buy clothes. Her mentality that was instilled at such a young age gave her a sense of purpose in her luxury consignment shop, and a duty to enlighten her clients in addition to her community—resulting in her having a great career in fashion, which led to the establishment of Quality Consignments.

Quality Consignments is a fantastic designer resale shop with prestige vintage and high-quality one-of-a-kind pieces. Francesca Laurenzi's owner has taken a completely different approach to advertise her store. With the popularity of social media and various platforms, many business owners use platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Shopify to gain business traction. However, Laurenzi has proven that she doesn't have to achieve success in her business by gaining popularity. While the largest brands in the world are the most prominent brands due to their social media presence and popularity, Laurenzi, on the other hand, has prioritized creating and maintaining loyal clients. Laurenzi states, "I mean, maybe it's a little old fashioned, I have a client book, like when people want something I make a note of it, when I get it or when I can source it, I call them." She continues by saying that her clients are "thrilled to death to hear, "oh my gosh, you remembered, you have it!" They come right over and they buy it."

Laurenzi continues and explains her engagement with her clients by saying that she constantly reaches out and prioritizes her clients. You could say that Laurenzi's approach to innovation is "old fashioned" with her lack of use of social media and other online platforms. However, Laurenzi has proven that you can have a great and successful business simply with your clients' quality and loyalty rather than quantity. As Laurenzi said, "I mean I could have a phenomenal day and like two people walk in the door."

Overall impact

Overall Impact

Recycling items has one of the most significant impacts on the environment. The benefits of consignment have caused a windfall in the fashion industry regarding promoting the reuse of suitable clothing without faults. Ten years ago, when Laurenzi decided to open her consignment store, she stated, "the economy was really bad, but consignment stores were flourishing." Alternatively, the decrease in storage vacancy because of people's habit of buying excess clothing, people were now offering to take their unwanted clothes, jewelry, and shoes to their consignment store rather than letting big fashion companies dump them into landfills.

In addition, the long-term effects included reducing carbon footprint, resource waste, and environmental pollution. It has assisted with decreasing the amount of energy used in producing and distributing goods that release ten percent of greenhouse gasses. According to Trust World, endangering marine life and our health has become one of the issues of global warming because 20% of the world’s waste is in the water. This is a result of the rush from sales of fast fashion clothing and plastic toys. Thus, when fast fashion companies started to produce low-quality clothing, it didn't just affect the environment but also people. When Laurenzi said "The people who made those products, how much do they get paid?” bringing to our attention how fast fashion companies are using cheap labor and materials to gain profit.

Consignments are the best alternative to selling and buying second hand items. "There are also many consignment stores within my area…,” said Laurenzi. Eco-conscious people have decided to open their consignment stores, to help benefit people and the environment. Though, the short-term effects of consignment are that they cause an increase in profits from sales and expand consumer's options to save money. Laurenzi stated “it is profitable….” but it is cost-efficient for consumers. Also, it helps declutter the space in consignors' homes due to the constant changes in fashion trends. Therefore, people will be able to enjoy designer clothing at retail prices, which leads to saving more money and the environment.

Business benefit

Business Benefit

Quality Consignments’ innovation benefits the business by helping promote the store as well as strengthening the bond that the store has with its community and customers. Since the store’s main source of income is through its loyal customers who live in the area, Laurenzi decided to partner with a local food pantry. If one of her customers donates to the food pantry then they get a discount at the store. Since there is no online shop and the social media presence is very low, customers have to physically go into the store to see the current inventory. From time to time, she will hire a social media intern to advertise her two main store sales in January every year. This makes the store seem very personal and strengthens the bond that you have with it. Some people just come into the store to donate and during our interview, Laurenzi states, ”people will just give me a donation, even if they are not buying anything.”

In addition, she created a client book to take requests on items (not in stock) and then notify the customer when she receives them. Quality Consignments operates more than a mere consignment store, it partners with other causes such as the local food pantry that influences people to engage and support local businesses in their community.

Social and environmental benefit

Social and Environmental Benefit

Quality Consignments preaches about sustainability and helping those less fortunate than you. The owner Laurenzi explained how she was raised with the values of quality over quantity. She explained how if something that her older sisters wore was still in mint condition then her family would hand it down to her. She also explained how if you don’t need something then you are better off not buying it. The consignment of designer goods helps reduce the landfill waste that would occur if these products were discarded which is a huge benefit to the environment. In addition, since the store only sells well-made products, they will last longer and reduce your chance of needing to buy another one in the future. The store operates as a brick-and-mortar location with no plans of selling online so there is no shipping waste. This benefits the environment as there are no fuel emissions from the product needing to be transported.

The partnership with the food pantry helps the less fortunate citizens of Boonton who are affected by increased food prices during the holiday season, making sure that these families don’t go to sleep hungry. The combination of these two acts enables that Quality Consignments are giving more than they are taking. In Laurenzi’s own words, “I'm by no means saving the world but I feel that I'm doing my part for the world….”. If more companies took the innovation Laurenzi is taking then the world would be in a much better place. Quality Consignments should be a leader and proof that a company can help the community as well as be profitable.

Interview

Francesca Laurenzi, Owner/Founder