Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chuck & Martha Garcera. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Chuck & Martha , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?
The antique and vintage business has been around for centuries. It’s a business that really knows no boundaries. Everywhere you go in the world, in almost every city, you’ll be able to find an antique/vintage store or flea market. You’ll find people of all ages at store and markets enjoying antiquing. It’s a great industry to be in.
We’ve owned our store for 15 years and for each of the major economic down markets during that time, 2008 and 2020, the industry has shown a resiliency that we did not image.
Let’s talk about Trends……during the Covid 2020 pandemic the industry experienced a “youth revitalization” movement in our business. We saw more young people taking to social media to buy and sell “used” items. When the world opened back up and people were able to interact, we saw the younger generation at estate sales, flea markets and buying/selling “repurposed/used” items on-line, shopping. Things that used to be considered grandmas old stuff and not very popular were of value now – it was “in” by the Millennials and GenZ-ers. We saw them use the term “thrifting” more than ever. It was and still is a good word. Antique and Vintage stores are now were considered a great place to go thrifting where you can find great deals on items that will last.
Chuck & martha , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Chuck – worked 23 years for Rockwell/Boeing as an Project Engineering on the Space Shuttle Program. He developed a knack for running projects, building item, and overseeing people and finances which comes in handy for running a business.
Martha – worked 26 years as a Sheriff Deputy of Los Angeles County. She developed a knack for reading people and has always loved crafts and decorating which comes in handy in buying and decorating the store.
One of our daughters, Sara, started collecting and selling her Star Wars collections when she was 9 years old. She is a real Kid Picker. She was doing great and asked to sell (share a space) with Martha’s friend at an antique store. Martha got the fever and started collecting and selling too. Our garage started getting full. Shortly thereafter, Martha heard the mall, King Richard’s Antique Center was for sale. The rest is history. Big kudos to younger daughter Sara for helping start our fun and very successful, 15 year old, family business. FYI, Sara (28 yrs old) now owns her own store in Merriam, Kansas – Slater St Antiques.
Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses.
We have bought a few businesses over time. The most challenging was buying our antique store. We bought it in 2008. Our purchase started when the economy was on the upswing but didn’t close until the end of the year when the economy took a nose dive. We thought to ourselves, what did we get ourselves into.
The process was long because we had to purchase an existing business from the business owner and then work with the landlord plus the (antique) store we bought had about 100 dealers that had booth rental agreements with the business owner. We had to carefully work with the outgoing business owner to make sure we didn’t loose any of the existing dealers which would help pay the rent. We did loose a few during the transition since some people do not like change. We had to sit down with all 100 dealers to introduce ourselves and our vision and rules for the store. All of this while trying to navigate the outside influence of the economy.
Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.
We have owned a couple of businesses other than the antique store. They were restaurants (franchise type) and the selling of the stores went very smoothly with the help of the following which are key points for anyone selling their business. 1) obtain a good commercial realtor to help you sell your business – one that has had experience in that market
2) try to sell your store on a high – meaning when it’s profitable – you will feel better about all the fee the you have to pay as a result of a sale. We understand this will not always be the case in the restaurant business
3) use a good escrow company (usually found by the real estate agent)
4) be prepared to deal with multiple parties – landlord, new business owner, state agencies to close books, etc
5) do your research on how to closeout a business – google search is helpful – there are many steps and potential costs so you have to be prepared
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kingrichardsantiques.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingrichardsantiquecenter
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whittierpackinghouse
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=king+richard%27s+antiques
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/Yl9nlTe7rUcFSGAQV7CLoQ
- Other: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33268-d1943729-Reviews-King_Richard_s_Antique_Center-Whittier_California.html
Image Credits
these were all taken by us – chuck