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Friday, July 3, 2009

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Your recession, my boom The owner of one of Nassau's first consignment stores is reporting a boom in business — the likely result of Bahamians strapped for cash and hungry for deals. "It's very popular all the time," said Thierry Boeuf, owner of The Consignment Shop, off Nassau Street. "But in difficult times like now, it seems even more popular because people get value for their money and people with items they don't use could get a few dollars for their items." So far, Boeuf has seen two weekends where nearly half of his items had been cleared off the shelf from shoppers taking advantage of the deals. That's for his opening weekend and last week. His store is taking root at a time when unemployment in The Bahamas is now soaring into the high teens, with the cost of living nearing five percent. They are all factors tightening purse strings, with many shoppers now taking a "sale only" approach to buying. The concept is quite common in North America and Europe, where people come in with items they no longer need and enter a contractual agreement with stores to have their things displayed for sale and for a percentage of the selling price. As time progresses, the original price agreed to by both consignor and shop owner is reduced up until the consignment period ends. Boeuf is now looking to increase staffing levels at the consignment store in upcoming months based on growing demand. "I think it's also a part of the advertisements starting to reach the people more," he said. "One thing I can say is almost every body who comes here comes back almost every week [because] you never know what you will find here." Boeuf said his biggest challenge is managing the number of people coming to make agreements with the store, recently adopting an appointment-only drop off schedule. Wednesday, June 24, 2009