The ScholarShop (8211 Clayton, 314-725-3456; 7930 Big Bend, 314-961-2525) has been bringing upscale resale to the St. Louis area since 1960. But next year, that long tradition will come to an end.
Last week, the The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis’ board voted to close both locations after seeing “net revenue decline, and operating costs increase, over recent years,” according to a statement posted to the foundation’s website.
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“The decision on the part of the board was to acknowledge that retail has changed so much,” says Faith Sandler, executive director of The Scholarship Foundation. “The days of being able to make the kind of revenue that we need for our students have passed by. We are not losing money, but we are attempting to avoid that.”
The ScholarShop will remain open for the next six to 10 months, and both locations will continue to accept clothing and accessory donations through the end of the year. In addition, mobile fashion truck Miki’s Closet by ScholarShop will continue to live on, although Sandler says the organization is still considering how best to use the truck once the merchandise is gone.
“We have a warehouse full of merchandise,” she says. “We’ll be restocking the sales floor regularly as we always do.”
Over the past 56 years, the ScholarShop has raised $28 million toward its mission of providing funds for assistance programs that help students reach higher-education goals.
“A lot of what we distribute [to students] is in the form of interest-free loans,” Sandler says. “Those dollars, even if they were raised 50 years ago, are still in circulation in this community.”
Although the ScholarShop stores are closing, The Scholarship Foundation’s work will continue, and monetary donations will still be accepted.
“St. Louis can be very proud of the ScholarShop because the community has really built it,” Sandler says. “People have generations of memories of shopping there. That’s not lost on us, and we are really grateful.”
Visit the ScholarShop’s Facebook page and Twitter feed for updates.
