Last updated: Monday, 3 November 2008, 22:55 GMT
White Mountain Dry Goods
K. (Kathleen) McQuade
President, founder, co-owner
White Mountain Dry Goods Inc.
Dover, N.H.
www.whitemountaindrygoods.com
For K. (Kathleen) McQuade, a jobber and the co-owner of Dover, N.H.-based White Mountain Dry Goods Inc., off-price means good value and can also mean high quality.
White Mountain Dry Goods is a wholesaler of clothing and accessories for men, women and children. The company is known for its outerwear and prides itself on providing name brand labels at maximum value to their customers.
"The quality of our clothing is what sets us apart from other suppliers," McQuade said. "We're very particular about what we buy. We buy mostly classically-styled branded goods. It's current fashion but not trendy."
Being particular in what her company buys is a major key to the success of White Mountain, McQuade said.
"There are a lot of opportunities in the market," she said. "The price might be right, but if you can't sell it there's no point in buying it. The key is to be cautious in your buying and offer the best value to your customer. Not every opportunity is the best. We are always sourcing what our customer is looking for and needs."
McQuade started her company 12 years ago. About one year ago she and Scott McQuade, her husband and the company's co-owner, opened a retail store in Dover, called UnderCurrents (for under priced current styles). White Mountain Dry Goods provides the inventory for the store, whose original manager was McQuade's niece, Casey Robbins.
Scott McQuade joined White Mountain Dry Goods three years after its founding by K. McQuade. Prior to joining the company, Scott was President, and the women's off price apparel buyer for McQuade's, a chain of stores owned by his family.
"My business was growing and I needed some help (when Scott joined the company)," McQuade said. "To this day we are still very strong in women's apparel. My husband has a lot of contacts in the women's (clothing) market."
It was Scott who convinced K. to open their own retail store.
"Scott really had the retail bug for quite awhile," she said, "but I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to be a retailer. But it has been great for our company."
The store has been a good place for White Mountain Dry Goods to sell excess inventory, returned items, and other odds and ends.
"It's been very successful," McQuade said. "There are no other off price stores in our immediate community."
As the nation's economy has tumbled toward a recession, the store has become even more popular.
"People comment on the value they get (at the store)," McQuade said. "Customers are looking to get the most from their dollar, there's no question about it."
"The economic downturn provides an opportunity for jobbers," McQuade said. Pinched consumers looking for value provide a boost to off-price retailers. At the same time some retailers are seeing sales slumps, resulting in more excess inventory that jobbers can purchase. White Mountain Dry Goods recently established relationships with several high end retailers to buy their surplus stock.
"We've had the opportunity to buy designer fashions at incredible values," McQuade said. "Stores from Maryland to Texas have been contacting us to sell off their surplus inventory."
When McQuade started the company 12 years ago she was a stay at home mom looking for a way to earn some extra money.
She started buying excess inventory, at first one item at a time. Then, she simply cold called retailers asking them to buy her inventory.
"I just thought of stores that I might shop at and called them," McQuade said.
White Mountain operations are based in Dover, NH, where it has its offices. But the company now outsources most of its warehousing.
"Goods go to the (outsourced) warehouse," McQuade said. "We tell them how we want it packed, and where to ship. We pay a small fee for that, but we can now spend more time on buying and selling and not have to worry about employees."
Over time McQuade, with the help of her brother, Chana Robbins, National Sales Manager, has built up a network of retailers to sell to. She has also participated in the Off Price Specialist Show since its beginning, which has helped them build that network. "The show has been critical to growing White Mountain's customer base," McQuade said. She and her husband are also members of the advisory board for the Off Price Apparel Specialist Show.
"We just love the Off-Price Show because it has given us the opportunity to show our goods to a broader range of customers throughout the country," McQuade said. "It has also helped us to develop personal relationships with people. If it wasn't for the show, it would be very difficult for us to grow our business."