New Anthropologie resale store opens in St. Pete
Katie + Hubbell, a specialty boutique dedicated to selling new and pre-owned Anthropologie items, became a part of St. Petersburg’s retail landscape over the weekend.
The store, at 5320 4th St. N., carries women’s clothing, swimwear, shoes, jewelry, accessories and home decor made and sold by Anthropologie, a well-known a lifestyle brand. Anthropologie opened its first retail store in 1992 in Wayne, Pennsylvania and today operates more than 200 stores worldwide.
In addition to Anthropologie-branded items, Katie + Hubbell also carries Anthropologie’s offshoot brands like Maeve, Pilcro and BHLDN, and some of the hundred-plus other labels sold at Anthropologie stores and on its website, including Good American, Paige, Reformation and Farm Rio.
The 2,500-square-foot storefront was previously home to Love My Dog Grooming and Boutique, which relocated to 1010 18th St. N.
Katie + Hubbell owner Shawna Ellis said the idea for the store emerged from a personal passion for the Anthropologie brand and an entrepreneurial spirit.
“It came from my own closet,” Ellis said. “I started selling Anthro myself. I had probably at least 100 items in my closet, and it all had brand new tags, so I tried selling it on Poshmark and it all sold immediately.”
After successfully selling her personal collection online, Ellis, who has a 30-year background in commercial real estate, decided to embark on a new adventure. Although Katie + Hubbell exclusively resells Anthropologie merchandise, it’s unaffiliated with the chain, which has a storefront in Tampa’s Hyde Park Village.
Ellis named the store after the two main characters of the 1973 movie The Way We Were, starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. “I am a huge Barbra Streisand fan,” Ellis explained. “I have collected almost all of her original record albums, and we featured 16 of them in the store.”
Ellis said she sources new-with-tags or lightly worn Anthropologie items from “all over the world” to stock her St. Pete store, including items previously from clothing subscription services such as Stitch Fix. Starting in 2025, customers will also be able to bring their gently worn Anthropologie clothing to Katie + Hubbell to sell for cash or store credit.
Ellis’ goal for Katie + Hubbell is to offer discounts on primarily new-with-tags items. One example: A shirt originally priced at $140 at Anthropologie is sold at Katie + Hubbell for $59, nearly 62% off the original retail price. Shoppers can easily see how much the items are marked down, as most of the stock still has the original price tags attached.
“People from St. Pete often don’t want to go all the way to Tampa to go to the Anthropologie, so they’re happy to have this available to them,” Ellis said. “It’s not the exact same [shopping experience] because it might be two to four months older merchandise than Anthropologie has, but people love it. Anthropologie just doesn’t get old.”
Ellis raved about the success of the store’s opening weekend, noting that they were “swamped” and sold a number of dresses and items from the Farm Rio label, a brand from Brazil that features brightly printed dresses and clothing sets.
Looking ahead, Ellis already has plans for expansion. She still sells items online via her Poshmark account and plans to expand into web-based sales at katieandhubbell.com by the end of the year, with a potential for an earlier launch. For the latest updates on online sales and selling opportunities, customers are encouraged to follow Katie + Hubbell’s website and social media accounts.
Katie + Hubbell is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
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