Retail, Recession-Style | Tilton & Cook Co-op holds low-risk appeal for entrepreneurs
For Steve Hartman, the timing wasn’t perfect. He’d decided to take his photography career to the next level by opening a studio. But it was the end of 2009, the economic outlook was daunting, and making a go of a storefront business seemed like a risky proposition.
Looking on Craigslist, Hartman found a space that worked for him: a booth at the Tilton & Cook Retail Cooperative, a four-day-a-week retail space in Leominster that’s part flea market and part something a little different.
“It’s a great place for me to start and build a clientele and see how it goes,” Hartman said.
Hartman is one of about 20 vendors who run tiny shops from fenced-in stalls in the former comb factory. At a time when traditional retail spaces are finding few takers, the market has gotten off the ground during the recession by providing a more affordable alternative.
Modest Sums
Michelle Despres founded the cooperative in 2007, taking out loans to refurbish the space. Today, she said, the business is debt-free, in large part because she has avoided taking money out of it, instead working two other jobs to support herself. In a “very good” month, she said, the operation grosses about $4,500.
Despres said the economic situation has probably helped the business in some ways, driving both vendors and customers to seek bargains. But it’s also created more competition from large retailers offering big discounts, and simply driven many customers to buy less stuff at any price.
The stalls at the market, which range in monthly rent from $175 for an 8-by-10-foot space to $450 for a 32-by-15 one, display a large array of goods and services. Traditional flea market knick-knacks sit on shelves near a banner promising refurbished computers and computer services. One entrepreneur produces large orders of custom silkscreened t-shirts. Another plans quinceanera parties, the huge 15th birthday blowouts that many Latino families throw for their daughters. Some vendors run their booths for extra money outside of a full-time job, while others use them as their sole source of income.
Linda Harvey owns Ladyslipper, a purveyor of discount wedding and prom gowns. Years ago, she said, the shop was located on Water Street in Fitchburg, before landlord problems caused her to shut down and then reopen at Tilton & Cook. She said the rent at the market is equivalent to a “very, very small storefront,” but it includes the utility costs a store owner normally pays on top of rent.
Harvey said that after two years at the co-op she’s just starting to see a profit, but expenses are low enough to let her stay afloat even in a rough climate.
She said another big advantage to the setting is the community of vendors it provides. When she was having health problems, she said, her neighbors at the market stepped in to help run her store. And, she said, when she moved from a smaller space to a larger one, everyone helped haul her inventory over.
Despres said that type of support also extends to the coop’s advertising budget. She said she puts out a few ads herself, but also expects each vendor to buy a little ad space or spread some flyers around.
Marlene Santonoceto, who runs MJ’s, one of the more traditional “junk shop” style booths, said she’s benefited from the publicity efforts of the refurbished computer salesman.
“One snowy Saturday when nobody should have been on the road, he was getting people from Malden and Worcester,” she said, adding that she managed to sell a few items to the customers as they walked by her booth.
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