Built in Ann Arbor

The Store

Intentionally designing the space was key to getting the customer excited and willing to pay the premium we were asking. Each element of the store design was done with the consumer at the forefront. University Vintage was not a novel concept for the average person. I laid out the store in a way that allowed the consumer to understand what they were looking at and not get overwhelmed. The store changed almost daily as I observed how customers shopped and listened to what the customers had to say at checkout.

+2,100

Daily Shoppable Items

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The Inventory

University Vintage sold vintage and second-hand University of Michigan clothing. Every item was sourced individually. I did not manufacture any new items. Therefore, I developed multiple methods of sourcing products to keep the store fully stocked. I sourced through online platforms, vintage markets, vintage resellers, and established an in-store buy-sell-trade (BST) program. The BST program allowed people to bring their items into the store, and get cash or store credit in exchange. I leveraged the BST program to turn my customers into suppliers.

+31,500

unique items sold

Sourcing Videos

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BST Program

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The Employees

Hiring, training, and managing employees was key to growing our business. By hiring the right employees to run the front-of-store operations, I gave myself more time to focus on growing the top and bottom lines. Training employees on our values and operations ensured that my customers felt welcomed and understood how the business operated. Managing the employees allowed me to develop the laid-back culture of University Vintage and ensured we had the proper amount of staff to cater to our customers' needs.

employees hired, trained, and managed

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The Content

The marketing strategy for University Vintage was crafted around our key customer segments: students, alumni, and fans. Organic content was the core marketing technique. I wanted to capitalize on the energy around the Michigan culture and nostalgic trends coursing through social media. The weekly content calendar was centered around topical University of Michigan news and current events, brand promotion and sales, and highlighting the historical significance of in-store products.

+550

pieces of content created

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The Cool Stuff

The more time I invested, the more cool things that would happen for the store. The University of Michigan is a fruitful ecosystem for fun opportunities due to the alumni network, sports programs, and its home within the city of Ann Arbor. University Vintage was recognized on Local and National Television, Dave Portnoy stopped by and posted us all over his social media, and current and former athletes shopped with us to buy unique items.