The company then changed its name to Grow Biz International, which was recognized by Forbes and Fortune Magazine as the fastest-growing private company in America in 1994. The following year, Grow Biz went public on Nasdaq and skyrocketed to 1,000 stores nationwide. Within the next five years, new management took over Grow Biz and changed the name to Winmark Corporation. The company continued to franchise PIAS and OUAC, as well as Plato’s Closet and Music Go Round. Ron retired from Winmark Corporation in 2000.
But retirement didn’t last long for the businessman who has been referred to as the godfather of resale. In 2005, Ron decided to pay a visit to his longtime friends Lynn and Dennis Blum in Columbus, who he knew well from his Grow Biz days and the purchase of their brands OUAC and Plato’s Closet. When the Blums started talking about their store Clothes Mentor, Ron’s entrepreneurial instincts kicked in once again, and he decided to come out of retirement and purchase the franchise rights to Clothes Mentor. He then founded NTY Franchise Company in 2006.
NTY Franchise Company
In 2007, Ron’s son Chad Olson, who had also gained many years of management experience at Grow Biz and later Winmark Corporation, joined the newly formed NTY Franchise Company to start franchising Clothes Mentor. With many years of successful franchising experience and an innovative resale brand in their back pocket, the Olsons knew they were onto something big.
The concept of buying and selling gently used designer and name-brand women’s fashion has certainly struck a chord with consumers. Clothes Mentor provides shoppers with high-quality clothing, shoes, and accessories at resale prices in a true retail environment. The brand expanded rapidly, and the total number of stores now exceeds 140. Every year since 2009, Clothes Mentor has been recognized as one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500.
After building a successful women’s resale franchise and a team of managers with extensive resale and retail experience, Ron and Chad Olson decided to expand NTY Franchise Company’s offerings. In 2011 Ron once again reached out to his old friends the Blums and purchased the franchise rights for New Uses, a resale store for home furnishings. Just two years later, NTY purchased the franchise rights for Laptop Exchange from Mike Smith out of Las Vegas and changed the name to Device Pitstop.
The brand now buys, sells and repairs smartphones, tablets, laptops and other personal electronics. Rounding out the company’s current franchise opportunities, NTY launched two new resale brands from scratch in 2014: NTY Clothing Exchange, for teens and young adults, and NTY Kids, for children sizes 0 to 14. The latest addition came in 2015 when the company purchased Children’s Orchard and its more than 30 existing stores. NTY decided to merge the new brand with NTY Kids and keep the name Children’s Orchard while incorporating the modern design and updated store features created by the NTY team.
While many franchisors stick with just one brand, NTY offers its potential franchisees five different brands to choose from, all featuring the same solid resale concept. And many store owners opt to franchise multiple brands.
The NTY Franchise Company Model
NTY Franchise Company has developed a proven, profitable business model for all five of its resale franchises and one that has helped the company reach about 200 stores nationwide. It is designed to provide franchisees with a simple, clear path to success, so they can achieve their goals sooner. The eight main areas of franchise support include business planning, training, bank financing, store location assistance, store opening assistance, point-of-sale system, regional operations manager, and marketing.
Each franchise also has a corporately-owned store near NTY’s headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Franchisees receive extensive training at the NTY-owned stores, and it’s also the place where current methods are updated and new ideas are tested to make sure they work before providing them to franchisees.
NTY Franchise also offers a unique experience during the decision-making process for potential franchisees. Any qualified candidate who is looking to learn more has the ear of the Vice President of Franchising from beginning to end. Unlike other franchise companies, it’s not someone who works for the VP that potential franchisees interact with, it’s the VP himself. And NTY’s simple four-step process provides a clear-cut path to becoming a franchisee.
For more information about NTY Franchise Company’s franchising opportunities, visit www.ntyfranchise.com or call 866-261-2030.