Used clothes, new niche: Plato's Closet opening

by David Reed

July 1,2009

           Columbia is getting another thrift shop, this time targeting a college-town niche.       

           Plato’s Closet, which is opening Tuesday in Broadway Bluffs, is a retail store that buys and sells fashionable used clothing and accessories for teens and young adults.

            Plato’s Closet is one of four Winmark Corporation franchises that buy and sell used items; the others are Play it Again Sports, which has a Columbia outlet on Business Loop 70 West, Once Upon a Child, and Music Go Round.  

            The owner of Plato’s Closet at 2609 E. Broadway, Scott Dyer of St. Louis, has two other Plato’s Closet locations in the St. Louis area. The franchisee is partnering with his district manager, Krisan Mindak, and bringing in the manager of the Kirkwood Plato’s Closet to take over the Columbia store.  

There are about 250 Plato’s Closet outlets in the United States, and Dyer said it was an “awesome concept before the economy declined.” The recession, he said, has compelled more people to sell and to buy their “gently used” clothing.

            The local store has been buying clothes for weeks now, and Dyer said sellers have brought a surprisingly large amount of clothing into the store.

            “We have an amazing abundance of great stuff,” he said. “That part has definitely been driven by the economy.”