Unique Markets Turns to Franchising to Scale

LOS ANGELES — Unique Markets, the well-curated bazaar of goods from local businesses, is eyeing scale with the launch of a franchising program. The pop-up marketplace, which began and made a name for itself in Los Angeles and has since had iterations in cities such as San Francisco, New York, Austin, Tex., and Washington, D.C., is now offering franchising of Unique Markets both here in the States and abroad. An international deal would mark the first time Unique goes overseas. It’s a major milestone for founder and chief executive officer Sonja Rasula, the HGTV star who has been running the business and a corporate team of seven for a decade now. The market has crafted a branding of its own that takes the neighborhood craft bazaars and elevates them with trendy assortments of everything from apparel and jewelry to home decor and stationery from local businesses. “I’ve seen the amazing, positive impact that it’s had in Los Angeles and other cities that we’ve grown to and so I really wanted to make an even larger impact, not just in local communities but really in the American local economy and in general,” Rasula said of the decision to start franchising. The company, since its start,

Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Read More...

from WWDWWD http://bit.ly/2vyeKfE