Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Donnell.
Kristen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in a family business surrounded by entrepreneurship. My father started selling used CDs in a booth at a flea market when I was just a few years old, and that booth ultimately turned into an international chain called CD Warehouse. Some of my fondest childhood memories are visiting my dad at the stores or his office and family movie nights during which we scraped stickers off of used DVDs (I joke that Goo-Gone smells like childhood!!).
I went to college at the University of North Carolina, majored in business, and landed a fantastic job in the Private Wealth Management division of Goldman Sachs. After 2 years as a financial analyst, I decided to take a giant leap of faith (and a huge pay cut) to work with my dad at EntertainMart, a DVD, CD, video game, electronics resale big box.
Incidentally, when I made the decision to leave Goldman, my dad bought me a Louis Vuitton Neverfull as a “signing bonus.” After a year of focusing on EntertainMart, I turned my attention to the Keeks concept, and once I added a woman’s touch (and a lot of Louis Vuitton!!), the business took off! In fact, my husband, Robert, joined the family business as the Director of Operations in 2014! We make a really great team, and I am hopeful that our daughter, Emmy (1.5 yrs), will have her own wonderful family business childhood memories!!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Two of our biggest challenges are awareness and figuring out what our footprint should look like. We have never done much marketing or PR, so we heavily rely on word of mouth. We are hoping that in our new 10,000 SF location, women will text their friends as soon as they walk in the door!!
As far as footprint goes, we have tried small and medium-sized locations in strip centers, indoor shopping malls, an outdoor mall, and now a big box! We like to make what we call “little bets,” or incremental changes, to figure out what works best! Stay tuned!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Keeks Designer Handbags – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We provide designer fashion without the designer attitude. We want everyone to experience luxury, not just the extremely wealthy. At Keeks, customers save money on luxury and get paid for items they no longer use. Selling to Keeks is a fabulous way to clean out your closet! Also, because we purchase a product from our customers, we get new, unique pieces in daily, which is a blast!
We buy and sell luxury handbags and accessories, and we guarantee authenticity. All bags are run through 3rd party authenticators. Our top-selling brands are Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Gucci, but we also have many other designers represented like Celine, Goyard, and Fendi just to name a few.
We do have a website, but our main focus is our retail locations. Interestingly enough, we’ve found that many people like to see, touch, and smell (yes, smell!) luxury items prior to purchasing rather than buying online. This is especially true for pre-owned merchandise! It can be difficult to get an accurate description of the condition through a few images, which is why people still prefer the in-person experience. Our retail shops also make returns super easy!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are not sure what the future holds for Keeks! Our focus for the foreseeable future is making the Keeks “big box” as top-notch as we possibly can. We would love to ultimately open a location South of 635 but are also open to other markets. Keeks Austin in Barton Creek mall is our first location outside of DFW and it’s going well so far!
Contact Info:
- Address: 4909 W. Park Blvd. #151 Plano, TX 75093
- Website: www.keekshandbags.com
- Phone: 4693670340
- Email: plano@keekshandbags.com
- Instagram: @keekshandbags
- Facebook: @keekshandbags
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