Savvy Shoppers Get the Jump on Back-to-School Shopping at Once Upon A Child

MINNEAPOLIS, MN--(Marketwired - Aug 7, 2013) - While the end of summer may still seem comfortably in the future, the owners of Once Upon A Child, the leading children's fashion resale store franchise, cites a recent survey that says 23.9 percent of savvy families with school-aged children planned to begin their back-to-school shopping almost two months before school begins, and another 49% will hit the stores three weeks to a month before school doors open. For families on a budget, this means that the time is now to find the best prices and selection on clothing, shoes, and accessories for the new school year.

The 2013 Back-to-School survey, conducted on behalf of the National Retail Federation by Prosper Insights & Analytics, finds that families expect to spend a total of $26.7 billion on back-to-school purchases for school-age children, or an average of $634.78 per family. The largest single portion of that back-to-school budget will be spent on updating wardrobes and accessories -- and 13.7% of families with school-age children will shop at resale or thrift shops.

"That's great news for families because the racks and shelves at Once Upon A Child stores are packed right now with stylish, quality clothing, shoes and fashion accessories to help families stick to their budgets and still send their kids happily back to school in the latest styles," said Brad Spencer, director of the Once Upon A Child^® brand. "Children outgrow clothing so quickly, and our stores offer families an opportunity to stretch their clothing budgets. Parents can bring in outgrown clothing for cash or credit, and purchase like-new outfits for their children at a fraction of the original price."

Once Upon A Child stores buy and sell good quality, current style children's apparel, shoes and accessories along with baby equipment and furniture, books, toys, and more. The stores' prices offer significant savings over retail prices, allowing families to satisfy their children's wishes for the latest styles and trends without sabotaging their budgets. Spencer offers the following tips to help parents "shop smart" at Once Upon A Child.

• Talk with your child about his or her "must have" items, and then shop with a list in hand to help you resist impulse buys.

• Inventory the clothing that your child still wears and shop for coordinating items or accessories.

• Shop early and often, and don't try to buy everything at once. A few new outfits will send your child off to school in style. New items arrive at the store daily, so add to your child's wardrobe over time to keep pace with clothing trends while you keep your budget on track.

"Shopping at resale stores also gives children a real-world lesson in recycling," said Spencer. "Children can trade in clothing they no longer wear for cash or credit and use that to select new-to-them outfits from our stores' quality resale selection. This experience helps children understand first hand how recycling helps extend the useful life of clothing and other goods."

For more information about Once Upon A Child, please visit www.onceuponachild.com.

Once Upon A Child®
Once Upon A Child® leads the nation in the buying and selling of name brand, gently used kids stuff. There are over 265 franchised stores in the United States and Canada. Once Upon A Child buys and sells quality, gently used children's apparel, baby equipment and furniture, books, toys, and more. Once Upon A Child is franchised by Winmark Corporation, which also franchises Play It Again Sports®, Plato's Closet®, and Music Go Round®. For more information visit www.onceuponachild.com.

Winmark Corporation
Winmark Corporation, based in Minneapolis, creates, supports and finances business. Specializing in leasing and developing franchises for retail stores that buy, sell, and trade new and used merchandise, it is the parent company of Play It Again Sports®, Once Upon A Child®, Plato's Closet®, Music Go Round®, Style Encore™, Wirth Business Credit®, Winmark Capital® and www.WBSOnline.com. Winmark has more than 965 franchise territories and is publicly traded at (NASDAQ: WINA). For more information visit www.winmarkcorporation.com.