Hello Everyone -
The ‘unofficial’ end of summer came and went. Not with a whimper but with no rain and lots of sun and humidity (at least in the Northeast). School starts today (yay, Sydney!). And rain to boot, lol.
Looking back on Summer 2022, it was definitely a summer of non-stop activities: day camp, day care, play dates, pool, COVID (2 weeks of being tethered to our house), and can’t forget about the beach. It was also certainly a time to reflect and trying to ‘let go.’ Something I’ve struggled with since the dawn of time: fully embracing the present moment, whole heartedly, without thinking about the past or worrying about the future.
How would you describe your summer? What did you learn or experience?
On to the subject at hand. I had the fortune of sitting down with my friend and former boss Tiffany Keriakos, CEO and Owner, Designer Revival. Designer Revival is a luxury consignment store that has been a mainstay on the Upper East Side (on E 81st street between 1st and 2nd aves) for 30+ years — way before The RealReal, Poshmark, Vestiaire Collective and the like popped up on the scene.
I met Tiffany through her husband, Michael, after I left working with him at Curacity. Before co-founding Curacity, Michael co-founded Everyday Health leading it from the ground floor to IPO.
After spending a good portion of her career working in finance then in marketing working alongside iconic leaders such as Bobbi Brown, Peter Thomas Roth, and June Jacobs, Tiffany in 2015 took the plunge and bought Designer Revival (it was up for sale).
A store she had patronized since college. Talk about life coming full circle.
She had the fortitude, foresight and experience to parlay them all into growing Designer Revival. Upon purchase, her personal conviction led to creating Designer Revival’s robust eCommerce presence (hello, pandemic). It had none before Tiffany came on board.
A quick 101: Consignment is a revenue stream where a business, like Designer Revival, helps an individual list a (gently worn) item for sale either in store or online. If the item is sold, the consigner and the store split the proceeds 50/50. Consigners and the businesses they partner with have close relationships; akin to a real estate agent and a buyer or seller of a home. While transactional, there’s emotion involved considering the history of the item being listed. Therefore, for a business like Designer Revival, personalized service is a huge differentiator vs. the competition.
New players in the consignment industry started to pop up during the early 2010s, digitizing consignment which made it super easy for an individual consignor to list items on an online marketplace rather than traveling to a store to have an item authenticated and then listed. This was done at the detriment of the aforementioned personalized service like a Designer Revival positions itself. These newer entrants also raised 100s of millions of dollars in venture capital in order to scale.
In contrast, Designer Revival reinvests its profits back into the business. Its ability to market a wide inventory of handbags, clothing and accessories combined with its relationships with consigners and customers help it stand out (zig while others are zagging). Just take a look at Designer Revival’s Google reviews. It also doesn’t hurt that the business has spanned generations and is NYC found and based.
The goodwill and great reviews are a reflection of Tiffany’s leadership style, specifically her employees and interns. A leadership style that is both empathetic and inclusive to ensure everyone on the team has their voice heard when formulating and making decisions.
Owning a small business is certainly not for the faint of heart — Designer Revival has been victim to a few break-ins which cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost merchandise. Fortunately Tiffany and her team continue to be resolute despite the anguish.
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