Tim Gable made good money as a Twin Cities-based merchandise liquidation broker, but said he is following his heart back to International Falls.
Gable took his contacts and business savvy and opened his $aveMore Direct Liquidation Market in the former Dollar Store building at 17th Avenue and U.S. Highway 53. The store will officially open after Thanksgiving. He plans to hire a fulltime manager and five part time staff.
The outlet location, in what Gables called the perfect spot in the best business intersection in town, completes his dream store. He credits building owner Phil Paulbeck with helping him since last May to clear the hurdles. Though they planned for a September opening, Gable said he is still pleased with the progress.
“Everything takes longer than you think,” said Gable.
In a profession where monitoring the liquidation market of major department stores is the central activity, Gable said he looks for wholesale cost or below deals to ensure he can sell cheap and keep within his profit margins.
“It’s fun, like a treasure hunt,” he said. “You name and it’s out there. You just have to source it and acquire it.”
The business is also about demand and Gable said he counts on customer input to direct his searches to get what people want. Right now, he said major label clothing, plus sizes, and youth urban wear is very popular.
“We listen and we want to hear what people want to say,” he said.
The timing is right to open a liquidator store in a down economy, Gable said. The successful liquidators of today, including mail order catalogs, all started in a down economy when people tend to save more and spend less, he noted.
Retailers and manufacturers are even more sensitive to market changes. Gable said they sense it and take action to reduce inventories through liquidation auctions and bidding when a change in the economic cycle is approaching.
“That puts a lot of product out there for me and the price is low,” he said.
As a specialist buyer and seller of close out and overstock merchandise, Gable acted as a go-between to major retailers moving millions of dollars in merchandise for the past eight years.
He was based in the Twin Cities and came home to the Falls on weekends to see his spouse and two children. Now he is back for good and says he enjoys the three-minute commute to the store.
“I spent a lot of time in the corporate world and I don’t like it,” he said. “I will do it for myself now, but not for the corporations.”
The local business was an idea that started years ago. Gable found an opportunity to buy product for himself and began selling to family and friends. That business grew into seasonal “ultimate garage sales” out of his home. He said without these loyal friends and customers over the years, he wouldn’t think of starting the business now.
“I started with a car load and went to a van load and after five years it was a full semi,” he said. “That is how I built a reputation and built my customer base over the last several years.”
Gable said his stock will be large and plans to open two other liquidation outlets within 100 miles of the Falls. He will keep moving inventory between stores for better exposure. He also has creative daily and weekly bargain specials and charitable options for customers to keep them coming back.
“In this business, you don’t want to be stagnant,” he said.
