Once Upon A Child is a secondhand clothing store that buys and sells used clothing, shoes, toys, books, and other baby equipment. Currently, they have over 400 stores across the United States and Canada. While the company is a chain, stores are individually owned and operated.
Lynn and Dennis Blum started Once Upon A Child in 1984, opening their first store in Ohio. [1] The ideas for Once Upon A Child was to provide financial relief for parents who were constantly purchasing new items for their children due to their rapid growth rates. [2] They sold the franchise rights for Once Upon A Child to Winmark Franchise Cooperation in 1992. [1]
Once Upon a Child pays sellers same-day, in cash, for items sold to the store. [3] They do not offer any other form of payment, including store credit. Items brought to the store and checked against pre-determined guidelines which vary by location, but generally include condition, style, brand and safety standards. [3] Items accepted by the store are checked for product safety and measures all toys and other products against safety standards and recalls. [4] Clothes, accessories, and shoes normally accepted by the store must not be more than 5 years old, but this varies by item and location. [5] If a customer chooses to sell items, the store offers them a 15% discount on goods purchased that day. [5]
The first Once Upon A Child store was opened in Perrysburg, Ohio in 1984. [1] Since then, over 400 locations have opened across North America. [6]
| State/Province | Number of Stores | Cities/Locations |
|---|---|---|
| United States | ||
| Alabama | 2 | Hoover, Madison |
| Alaska | 2 | Anchorage, Fairbanks |
| Arizona | 6 | Gilbert, Glendale, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Tucson |
| Arkansas | 4 | Bentonville, Conway, Fayetteville, Jonesboro |
| California | 12 | Chico, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Modesto, Newark, Oceanside, Rancho Cucamonga, Redding, Roseville, Sacramento, Tracy, Vacaville |
| Colorado | 8 | Arvada, Centennial, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Greeley, Littleton, Longmont |
| Connecticut | 8 | Bristol, Danbury, Enfield, Manchester, Meriden, Orange, Waterbury, Wethersfield |
| Delaware | 2 | Dover, Wilmington |
| Florida | 31 | Altamonte Springs, Brandon, Cape Coral, Clearwater, Daytona Beach, Fort Myers, Jacksonville (4), Kissimmee, Lakeland, Largo, Melbourne, Naples, Ocoee, Orlando (3), Oviedo, Panama City, Pensacola, Port Charlotte, Royal Palm Beach, Sarasota, Stuart, Tampa (2), Vero Beach, Wesley Chapel, Winter Haven |
| Georgia | 12 | Austell, Buford, Canton, Columbus, Douglasville, Duluth, Gainesville, Jonesboro, Marietta, Newnan, Savannah, Snellville |
| Idaho | 2 | Idaho Falls, Twin Falls |
| Illinois | 10 | Bloomington, Bolingbrook, Crest Hill, Elgin, Fairview Heights, Harwood Heights, Naperville, Orland Park, Rockford, Springfield |
| Indiana | 19 | Anderson, Bloomington, Carmel, Clarksville, Crown Point, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Goshen, Indianapolis (5), Lafayette, Mishawaka, Muncie, Schererville, Terre Haute, Valparaiso |
| Iowa | 5 | Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Davenport, Sioux City, Urbandale |
| Kansas | 1 | Overland Park |
| Kentucky | 8 | Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Florence, Lexington, Louisville (2), Owensboro, Paducah |
| Louisiana | 6 | Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Mandeville, Metairie, Monroe, Slidell |
| Maryland | 6 | Ellicott City, Gambrills, Glen Burnie, Salisbury, Timonium, Waldorf |
| Massachussetss | 2 | Seekonk, West Springfield |
| Michigan | 16 | Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Brighton, Canton, Flint, Jackson, Lansing, Monroe, Novi, Okemos, Portage, Saginaw, Traverse City, Troy, Walker, Wyoming |
| Minnesota | 15 | Anoka, Burnsville, Duluth, Eden Prairie, Mankato, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Minnetonka, Rochester, Roseville, Saint Luis Park, Shakopee, Spring Lake Park, Waite Park, Woodbury |
| Mississippi | 4 | D'Iberville, Hattiesburg, Ridgeland, Southaven |
| Missouri | 9 | Arnold, Ballwin, Bridgeton, Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Kirkwood, Lee's Summit, Springfield, St. Peters |
| Montana | 2 | Bozeman, Great Falls |
| Nebraska | 1 | Lincoln |
| Nevada | 2 | Henderson, Reno |
| New Hampshire | 2 | Manchester, Portsmouth |
| New Jersey | 7 | Deptford, Edison, Fairfield, Howell, Maple Shade, Paramus, Randolph |
| New Mexico | 1 | Albuquerque |
| New York | 11 | Blasdell, Clifton Park, New Hartford, Rochester (2), Scarsdale, Seaford, Syracuse, Vestal, Victor, Wappingers Falls, Webster |
| North Carolina | 16 | Asheville, Cary, Charlotte, Concord, Durham, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Greenville, Hickory, Jacksonville, Matthews, Raleigh, Southern Pines, Wilmington, Winston Salem |
| North Dakota | 4 | Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot |
| Ohio | 28 | Anderson, Beavercreek, Canton, Cincinnati, Columbus (2), Dayton, Dublin, Fields Ertel, Findlay, Gahanna, Grove City, Huber Heights, Hyde Park, Lima, Mansfield, Mentor, Niles, Perrysburg, Poland, Sagamore Hills, Sandusky, Stow, Sylvania, West Chester, Western Hills, Westerville, Westlake |
| Oklahoma | 2 | Norman, Oklahoma City |
| Oregon | 2 | Clackamas, Salem |
| Pennsylvania | 12 | Allentown, Cranberry Township, Dickson City, Erie, Exton, Harrisburg, Huntingdon Valley, Lancaster, Monroeville, Paoli, Pittsburgh (2), York |
| Rhode Island | 1 | Warwick |
| South Carolina | 11 | Anderson, Bluffton, Charleston, Columbia (2), Florence, Greenville, North Charleston, Rock Hill, Spartanburg, Surfside Beach |
| South Dakota | 2 | Rapid City, Sioux Falls |
| Tennessee | 11 | Antioch, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Collierville, Cordova, Franklin, Johnson City, Kingsport, Knoxville (2), Murfreesboro |
| Texas | 38 | Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Baytown, Beaumont, Carrolton, College Station, Colleyville, Corpus Christi, Denton, El Paso, Flower Mound, Garland, Georgetown, Houston (4), Hudson Oaks, Humble, Katy, Leon Valley, Longview, Lubbock, McKinney, Mesquite, Odessa, Pearland, Plano, Port Arthur, Rosenberg, Round Rock, San Antonio, The Woodlands, Tyler, Universal City, Waco, Webster |
| Vermont | 1 | Williston |
| Virginia | 16 | Chesapeake (2), Christiansburg, Colonial Heights, Danville, Forest, Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Newport News, Richmond (2), Roanoke (2), Virginia Beach (2), Winchester |
| Washington | 3 | Kennewick, Spokane Valley, Vancouver |
| West Virginia | 3 | Morgantown, Parkersburg, Triadelphia |
| Wisconsin | 9 | Appleton, Brookfield, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Kenosha, La Crosse, Madison (2), Wausau |
| Wyoming | 2 | Casper, Cheyenne |
| Canada | ||
| Alberta | 10 | Calgary (3), Edmonton (2), Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Sherwood Park |
| British Columbia | 9 | Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Coquitlam, Kamloops, Kelowna, Langley, Nanaimo, Surrey, Victoria |
| Manitoba | 3 | Brandon, Winnipeg (2) |
| New Brunswick | 3 | Fredericton, Moncton, Saint John |
| Nova Scotia | 1 | Halifax |
| Ontario | 32 | Ajax, Barrie, Belleville, Brampton, Brantford, Burlington, Cambridge, Concord, Etobicoke, Guelph, Hamilton, Kanata, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Markham, Milton, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara Falls, Oakville, Ottawa, Richmond Hill, Sault Ste Marie, Scarborough, St. Catharines, Stoney Creek, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Whitby, Windsor |
| Saskatchewan | 3 | Regina, Saskatoon (2) |
The company currently ranks in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500. [4]