Lake Wylie boutique doubling its size

Women looking for deals on clothing and accessories will have triple the chance as Lake Wylie’s only consignment store expands.

Echo Consignment Boutique is doubling in size to 2,000 square feet at its Landing Station location at 164 Highway 274. Owners Chrissy Pellegrino and Linda Watkins also will to turn Echo Attic, nearby at Shoppes at the Landing off Latitude Lane, now selling home decor into clearance clothing and accessories store with items from the boutique.

“The reason for the conversion at Echo Attic is we have been very successful with ladies’ consignment and the new items we carry,” Watkins said. “Everything in the Attic will be 50 percent off.”

Since opening three years ago in March, the boutique has grown to 1,000 consignors and four part-time employees.

“We’ll need more inventory for the expansion, and we are very enthusiastically accepting consignment items by appointment,” Watkins said. “The success of our business is in the consignors.”

Customer Jewell Gregory of Rock Hill and stylist at nearby Great Clips, picked up a Coach purse.

“It’s better than thrift stores and most retail stores don’t have what they have in here,” she said.

Making it through two years of demolition and construction until Publix opened in November, Watkins said business is growing.

“Publix has been a great landlord,” she said. “They want to support our business because we’re local entrepreneurs.”

The boutique - which sells like-new used name brand items including Coach, Ann Taylor, Chico’s, Dooney & Bourke, Sperry, Banana Republic and more - will also add new items and “cool, gifty things.”

“We’re also custom designing all new Carolina Girl, Lake Wylie and Clover apparel, as well as custom monogramming,” Watkins said. “Currently about 20 percent of our inventory is brand new and that will increase as we expand.”

Watkins said they have signed the lease for the space formerly occupied by Nationwide Insurance now on Evergreen Road.

“We hope to have construction complete by mid-February,” she said. “We’ve just run out of room.”

The store may need to close for a couple of days during the work, but will open with a “big grand re-opening celebration.”

Items that don’t sell and consignors don’t pick up are donated locally to Sweet Repeat Thrift Store an Christ the King’s Community Closet, Watkins said.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Lake Wylie boutique doubling its size."