What Style Encore does

Style Encore is a franchise resale retail brand that buys and sells gently used clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories to value-conscious consumers. The brand is a registered trademark of Winmark Corporation, a Minneapolis-based holding company that owns and franchises a portfolio of resale concepts including Plato's Closet, Once Upon a Child, Play It Again Sports, and Music Go Round. Style Encore locations are independently owned and operated by franchisees across the United States and Canada, with no proprietary technology disclosed and no AI capabilities indicated.

The business operates a dual-channel model. In physical retail stores, customers can walk in without an appointment to sell gently used items for immediate cash on the spot, with merchandise then resold in-store at retail markup. A parallel e-commerce storefront at style-encore.com offers shopping across women's and men's clothing, shoes, accessories, handbags, and jewelry. Marketing channels are predominantly organic: Facebook and Instagram for top-of-funnel awareness, email newsletter for mid-funnel engagement, and an SMS-based loyalty program for retention.

Revenue is generated through two streams: one-time retail merchandise sales to consumers and consignment-style purchasing of inventory from sellers, where the brand pays cash on the spot and resells at markup. Pricing is individualized by brand, condition, and style and is not publicly standardized. The company employs 266 people (likely across corporate and store-level roles), operates under no public ticker of its own, and has no disclosed funding history, M&A activity, or leadership changes in the provided data.

Name

Style Encore

Legal name

Winmark Corporation

Website

https://style-encoremaplegrove.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Style Encore is a Winmark Corporation franchise resale brand that buys and sells gently used clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories through independently owned stores and an e-commerce site across the US and Canada, serving value-conscious consumers seeking affordable, sustainable fashion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Resale Retail

NAICS

Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers (458)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Retail-Family Clothing Stores (5651)

akta.pro primary industry

Apparel, Footwear & Accessories Resale (CRAFAGAA)

Keywords

• Resale retail
• Consignment fashion
• Secondhand clothing
• Franchise thrift stores
• Used apparel resale

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail merchandise sales: Revenue generated from selling gently used clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories to consumers at retail prices. One-time transaction model where customers purchase items from inventory.
2. Consignment purchasing: Company purchases gently used items from customers and pays cash on the spot. Items are then resold at retail markup in-store or online.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Style Encore is a franchise resale retail brand that buys gently used clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories from individual consumers for immediate cash on the spot, then resells those items at affordable retail prices through individually owned franchise storefronts and an online e-commerce shop. The service operates year-round across all seasons with no appointment required for sellers, and inventory spans women's and men's fashion categories including outerwear, bottoms, dresses, tops, shoes, handbags, jewelry, swimwear, and accessories.

Product overview

Style Encore is a franchise resale retail business that operates as a single unified service offering: buying gently used clothes, shoes, handbags, and accessories from customers for immediate cash, then reselling those items in physical store locations and through an online e-commerce platform. The company does not offer separate modular products—its core offering is the resale service itself, with both in-store and online shopping channels. Product categories span women's and men's clothing, shoes, accessories, handbags, jewelry, and outerwear across all seasons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Style Encore Resale Service

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Winmark CorporationcoreOthersWinmark Corporation is the parent company and franchisor of Style Encore, based in Minneapolis, MN. Winmark owns and franchises multiple resale brands including Plato's Closet, Once Upon a Child, Play It Again Sports, and Music Go Round.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Crossroads Trading: Chain of physical resale stores buying and selling gently used clothing, shoes, and accessories. Comparable in-store cash-on-the-spot buying model and apparel/accessories focus.
• Poshmark: Peer-to-peer online marketplace for buying and selling new and used clothing, shoes, and accessories. Comparable product categories, though peer-to-peer versus Style Encore's retail resale model.
• Savers / Value Village: Large for-profit thrift chain operating secondhand retail stores across North America. Comparable physical secondhand apparel and accessories retail model serving value-conscious consumers.
• Buffalo Exchange: Employee-owned chain of physical resale stores buying and selling secondhand clothing, shoes, and accessories with cash on the spot. Directly comparable buy-sell-trade retail model targeting similar value-conscious fashion consumers.
• thredUP: Leading online resale platform for women's and children's apparel. Comparable secondhand apparel marketplace model, though delivery-only versus Style Encore's physical storefront + omnichannel mix.
• Once Upon a Child: Sister Winmark franchise brand focused on resale of children's clothing, toys, and baby gear. Same parent and franchise infrastructure, adjacent product category.
• Plato's Closet: Sister Winmark franchise brand focused on buying and reselling gently used teen and young adult apparel. Most direct comparable: same parent, same franchise + resale model, overlapping customers.

Broad incumbents

• The RealReal: Online luxury consignment marketplace for authenticated pre-owned luxury fashion, jewelry, and accessories. Overlapping secondhand apparel model but positioned in the luxury price tier versus Style Encore's mass-market value proposition.

Emerging players

• Depop: Peer-to-peer social resale marketplace popular with Gen Z for secondhand fashion. Comparable product categories and secondhand model, but mobile-first community platform versus Style Encore's brick-and-mortar focus.
• Vestiaire Collective: Global authenticated luxury and premium fashion resale platform. Comparable secondhand apparel/accessories marketplace model, though focused on premium and luxury tier versus Style Encore's accessible value positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/styleencoremaplegrove
• Instagraminstagram.com/styleencoremaplegrove
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/style-encore

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Style Encore