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Consignment entrepreneur: Customers are also her suppliers
by Frank DeLoache
editor@huntersvilleherald.com
HUNTERSVILLE – Tonya Runions
and her husband, Keith, drove from Belmont.
Wendy John came all the way from the
Lake Wyle area of South Carolina.
They both ended up one sunny afternoon
at D.J. Kukuruda’s rented warehouse
in Huntersville, searching through
a sea of kids toys, clothing and furniture.
You name it and Kukuruda probably has it
at Kids Consignment Warehouse, another
locally grown business that took root in
the recession.
“Especially with the economy, people
just can’t afford to buy things new,” said
Kukuruda, as more women wandered into
her warehouse at 105 Parr Drive, on the
south side of busy N.C. 73, 100 yards east
of the Norfolk Southern rail line.
Hang around the consignment business
long enough, and you’ll see people
park in front who are shopping for a bargain
and others in the back to drop items
off for sale.
The business really began 14 years
ago, a short time after Kukuruda, a single
mom, moved to the Blue Stone Harbor
community in Cornelius from California.
She started putting together “semiannual
sales” of used clothing she collected
through a network of moms she
built through the years. To get some extra
spending money, she rented the American
Legion building in Cornelius for two
weeks twice a year and sold as much used
clothing as she could.
Kukuruda has thousands of people on
her e-mail list who have bought items at
her sales and also sold items through her.
“The great thing about the consignment
business is customers and suppliers are
the same – buying one day and selling the
next as their children grow up and their
needs change,” Kukuruda said.
At the semi-annual sales, “I’d see people
every year,” she said. “I’ve had people with
me through the years, and people kept
telling me, ‘You need to open a new store,’
and that’s what I’ve done – combine the
store with the semi-annual sale.”
She moved into the Huntersville warehouse
in May. She still has her full-time
job – 26 years with U.S. Airways at Charlotte-Douglas
International Airport.
She has three part-time employees who
keep the shop going when she’s at her
other job, but Kukuruda is still the engine
driving Kids Consignment.
She said she’s conscientious about offering
great deals. She gets some items
in that have never come out of the box,
but they’re automatically half off. She
tells people placing merchandise with
her that they’re better off pricing to sell.
She’s used small advertisements, but
many of her customers hear through word
of mouth or online networking groups,
such as Lake Norman Mommies.
Tonya and Keith Runions were shopping
for a crib, and they spotted one, a
three-in-one crib-bed never taken out of
the box – when they walked into Kids
Consignment. “We’ve been everywhere,”
Keith Runions said. Most places, even
on clearance, wanted $400 or more, he
said. The best price they had seen was
$100 more than Kukuruda’s price.
Wendy John, 33, recently found out
she’s pregnant. Her other child is 16, so
“I have nothing – no crib or mattress,
no toys, no clothes,” she said as she
browsed. She saw Kids Consignment
mentioned on the Internet and thought
the prices were worth the drive from
Lake Wylie.
With the response she’s gotten, Kukuruda
sees room for growth. She’s
started getting more ladies purses and
some clothes
for sale, and,
like any good
entrepreneur,
she interested
in the possibilities.
To find
out more,
call the Kid’s
Consignment
Warehouse
at 704-804-
0443. q
D.J. T:7.365” Kukuruda has a warehouse filled with used children’s clothing, toys and
furniture.
S:6.365”
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www.huntersvilleherald.com The Herald Weekly • Oct. 2-8, 2009 • Page 13
Frank DeLoache/Herald photo
S:8.5”
T:9.5”