For Ultra Image owners Becky Reece and daughter Kim Johnson, making use of empty storage space meant more than storing extra tanning bulbs and boxes. Instead, Reece and Johnson were motivated by college students and customers who were tired of traveling to Indianapolis to find attire for formals and every day clothing.
Reece and Johnson formed a new store with a new concept. Summer sales were down, and it would generate more income. It would offer everything that a retail store did, but they took away the word "new" and replaced it with "used."
They called it The Corner Closet. While the store, located next to Ultra Image Tanning in the Village, sells used brand name clothing, it sets itself apart by also buying clothing from the customers.
"The idea came from the customers at Ultra Image saying that they had dances or formals to go to, or a type of a theme party, and they would have to go to either Indianapolis or the mall to find something within 24 hours," Johnson said. "We thought that we should try a resale store because the closest one to Muncie is in Yorktown, and it isn't as geared toward the younger crowds as I thought ours could be."
According to Reece, the concept for the store is similar to that of the Plato's Closet resale stores located in Indianapolis and Bloomington, but The Corner Closet is on a 90-day consignment period.
"The majority of the clothes that we started with came from girls who graduated last May and wanted to get rid of some old things and requested that they go in the consignment shop," Johnson said. "Word of mouth spread, and that's how we ended up with a lot of the things we have now." The store currently has name brand clothing, but does not restrict it to only those items. According to Reece and Johnson, the store also sells all sizes, although it does not carry as many large sizes as Johnson would like. Items range in price from 99 cents to around $30, and Johnson said that the average price is around $7. Most of the nicer dresses are around $30, and many of the jeans sell for $14.99. Aside from the clothes, The Corner Closet also sells accessories such as purses, jewelry and shoes. According to Reece and Johnson, there is also a store credit option available to people who sell their clothes to the shop. This alternative lets people who have previously sold their clothes at the store have a credit available to purchase other items from the store at a later date. "This way our customers don't have to have cash on them in order to buy something else," Johnson said. "The money for the things they have already sold goes into the computer system and stays there until they choose to use it." The Corner Closet opened shortly after the spring semester ended. Johnson and Reece both decided the summer was a good time to start the business because of the slower period at the tanning salon. "We wanted to open while we were slow at Ultra Image. It would have been a lot harder to start up in the fall with all the new freshman clients," Reece said. "Because the business is just getting off the ground, the selling has been a little touch and go so far, but we believe that it is only because the kids aren't back in school yet and the freshmen have yet to arrive." The Corner Closet is located at 409 N. Martin and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
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