Earlier in October, Circular Philadelphia hosted a Resellers Listening Session in conjunction with the Philadelphia Department of Commerce to hear from resale business owners about their challenges and the opportunities they see for growing this vibrant sector of the circular economy in the Philadelphia region. Circular Philadelphia member Thunderbird Salvage graciously lent their fabulous space at Thunderbird Hall in Port Richmond for an afternoon of conversation, connection and knowledge-sharing. The event was made possible by a grant from the Commerce Department
The event began with an hour set aside for networking as attendees arrived and helped themselves to hoagies (and other snacks) and drinks provided by Circular Philadelphia. Big Top Vintage owner and listening session facilitator Elliott Arrick then kicked off the event by introducing the agenda for the afternoon and bringing up the first presenter, Circular Philadelphia’s Director of Policy and Engagement Nic Esposito, to give an overview of the organization and explain why Circular Philadelphia convened the event. He shared that Circular Philadelphia knows that resale and secondhand businesses make up an important segment of Philadelphia’s economy, and they are a crucial link in the transition to a circular economy. As such, Circular Philadelphia wants to support the continued growth of this sector so that these small businesses can not only survive but thrive in the Philadelphia region.
Nic explained that we convene four working groups to support its market focuses of the built environment, food systems, textiles and vacant land, and the input from those operating businesses in those sectors has underpinned the direction and focus of the organization’s work to bolster those sectors. Similarly, we want to serve the needs of resale businesses owners by co-developing solutions that address challenges articulated by and experienced everyday by resellers. This collaboration is what will make the work successful.
The Commerce Department’s Dawn Summerville (Deputy Commerce Director, Business Development), Madeleine Gee (Manager, Strategy and Incentives) and Anya Chuyko (Business Services Manager for the Mayor’s Business Action Team) then presented on the department’s creative economy priorities, which include vending opportunities, marketing Philly’s creative economy, industry convening, retention and growth, and strategic partnerships. They also shared resources available to businesses, such as $5,000 per new quality job created through the Quality Jobs Program, the Storefront Improvement Program, the Business Security Camera Program, the Commercial Real Estate Acquistion Loan Program, and the concierge service offered to entrepreneurs through business services managers embedded in neighborhoods.
Elliott then opened up the listening session with the framing of it being a generative conversation. They asked the attendees to consider the following questions:
- What are your challenges in running your business?
- What’s keeping you from taking the next step in your business?
- What help could you use?
Attendees heard Elliott’s framing loud and clear because the conversation took off in a very candid and thought-provoking direction. Resellers expressed interest in a way for the community to stay more connected and collaborate with each other. Some identified that storage space was a challenge. Others wanted to see more support around outreach and education to the public about the value of purchasing secondhand goods.
About half the attendees sell mainly at pop-up events, and they said that they would love to have a space in Philly where they could vend year-round. Elliott shared that they know someone who regularly drives to Lancaster to stock a booth in a vendor mall because there isn’t a similar place that’s closer.
The conversation touched on a wide variety of topics, but as the listening session continued, several common themes emerged:
- Building a united resale community and promote collaboration between resellers
- Solving storage woes (especially climate-controlled storage)
- Sharing transportation services
- Educating consumers on the value of secondhand
- Identifying skilled repair people for a variety of goods
- Understanding tax incentives and other supportive programs for resale businesses
To address some of these themes, attendees talked about some big ideas, including:
- Creating a reseller directory and database
- Launching quarterly barter markets for resellers to move inventory that’s stagnant
- Opening a year-round indoor vendor space in the city
At the end of the session, many of the attendees shared that they felt that getting together in the same room for the event was extremely valuable, and they expressed interest in doing it on a somewhat regular basis. This was music to our ears as we think about convening a working group for the resale sector.
We know it is difficult for small business owners, especially those who operate brick-and-mortar retail stores, to take several hours of their day to attend an event like this. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of the resellers who attended for taking the time to candidly share with us their valuable insights into the resale sector.
We are excited to take the insights and learnings we gathered during the session and begin to build out Circular Philadelphia’s support and resources for this sector. If you missed the listening session but want receive more information as this takes shape, please sign up here to receive updates as our resale market focus evolves. We’ll also send you a recording of the meeting and the presentation slides.
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