Last Updated on August 1, 2012 by DeanR
Once Upon A Child Franchise Information
Once Upon A Child is a franchise for a store buying and selling new and used equipment, clothing, toys and furniture for kids.
It was founded in 1984 in Columbus, Ohio. Their first franchise was opened in 1992. Once Upon A Child is owned by Winmark which was formerly known as Grow Biz. Other companies under Winmark are Plato’s Closet, Music Go Round, and Play it Again Sports. They claim that they are the largest when it comes to reselling items for children. They say that unlike their competitors, they always pay on the spot and they don’t require appointments for you to sell your items. Their products are about 90% used items and 10% that are new. Their target markets are usually Moms aged 25 to 44 and sometimes also grandmothers aged 45 to 65. They are usually in the middle to upper middleclass that has children ages 13 and below. They now have 229 locations in the United States and 24 locations in Canada.
How does Once Upon A Child work?
First is that you bring your gently used baby equipment, toys, and clothing. Their items available are for toddlers, boys youth, girls youth, newborn and infant. They accept costumes, dancewear, sleepwear, swimwear, and outerwear. While the buyer checks the items that you have brought, you can go around the store to see if there is anything that you can get for your children. What the buyer will do is select and then they will make you an offer depending on the safety, condition standards, and the current style. Once you come to an agreement, you can either go home with cash or with new things for your child.
What brands are most preferred by the Once Upon A Child store?
They like Arizona, Abercrombie, Baby Trend, Baby Connection, Chicco, Carters, Columbia, Children’s Place, Cosco, Combi, Dorel, Crocs, Evenflo, Eddie Bauer, Gap, Fisher Price, Guess?, Graco, Hanna Anderson, Gymboree, Instep, Infantino, Justice, Jumping Beans, Kolcraft, Keds, Learning Curve, Leap Frog, Levi’s, Lego, Mattel, Little Tikes, Okie Dokie, Nike, Osh Kosh G’Gosh, Old Navy, Peg Perego, P.S. from Aeropostale, Ralph Lauren, Playskool, Rothschild, Robeez, Sesame Street, Safety 1st, Stride Rite, Step 2, Tommy Hilfiger, The North Face, V Tech, and UGG.
Cost and requirements on running a Once Upon A Child franchise
You need to have a net worth of $200,000 and a total liquid asset of at least $61,260 to $92,850. Expect to be investing about $204,000 to $310,000. The cost of the Once Upon A Child franchise fee is $25,000 with an on-going royalty fee of 5%. This is for a renewable 10 year term agreement. You will need about three to five employees to run one location. They allow multi-unit ownership. They do not allow absentee ownership.
What is included in the franchise package?
There will be two weeks training at the headquarters. You will be receiving newsletters and a toll free phone number. You will be given access to the internet, purchasing cooperatives, and assistance at the grand opening. Expect to be attending meetings and receiving occasional field evaluations to check on your progress. For marketing support, there will be ad slicks and co-op advertising.
Once Upon A Child Contact Details
You may reach them at:
Address: 605 Hwy. 109 N., # 400 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55441
Phone: (800)592-8049 or (763)520-8490