27-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Style Encore's second city location steps onto men's clothing stage
Chantelle Harder didn't always have entrepreneurial aspirations, but today she runs seven businesses.
In May, Harder and business partner Alex Domingo opened Style Encore at 1190 St. James St. The Winnipeg store purchases and resells clothing and accessories, and is part of a chain created by franchisor Winmark Corp.
Harder also owns a Plato's Closet location and a Once Upon a Child store in Winnipeg, and she is the founder of Harder HIIT Fitness, a non-profit community gym in the city. The 46-year-old also co-owns three Plato's Closet locations in Alberta.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Style Encore co-owner Chantelle Harder in the new consignment shop at 1190 James St.
Harder's employees are often teens working their first jobs and she enjoys the opportunity to mentor them.
'I love working with young people,' said Harder, who was an educator before becoming a business owner.
'Watching them learn and grow is so rewarding. It's kind of like being a teacher, to be honest with you, which is maybe why I love it so much.'
Style Encore offers affordable, gently used casual and business clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories for people in their late 20s and older. It sources the items by purchasing them from customers, who can receive cash on the spot for goods they've outgrown or no longer want.
It's the second Style Encore location in Winnipeg (the other is on Nairn Avenue) and the only one in the city to offer men's clothing and an e-commerce platform for online shoppers.
The store features a range of brands including Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Gap and Lululemon. The store carries items that sell for as little as $5, as well as luxury handbags, designer shoes and sunglasses that retail for hundreds of dollars.
'I love the concept of keeping all of these things out of our landfills and giving the community a safe and welcoming place to come sell and buy,' Harder said.
Harder made her first foray into business in 2001, when she and her then-husband started an online pharmacy based in Minnedosa. Ten years later, she opened her Once Upon a Child location.
Once Upon a Child and Plato's Closet are also Winmark brands that buy and sell gently used items, the first for children and the second for teenagers and young adults.
For Harder, it made sense to open a store for customers 25 and older so she could meet the needs of people of all ages. She asked Domingo, a human resources manager for her other businesses, to join her in the venture.
The business partners and their staff purchased 76,000 items in the six weeks leading up to the location's grand opening May 1. Since then, business at the 4,200-square-foot store has been brisk, Domingo said.
'We expected to be busy but I don't think we expected to be as busy as we are. It's a nice surprise,' she said.
Harder and Domingo are both Métis and say they are proud to represent Indigenous business owners. They also find meaning in running a business that focuses on sustainability and offers customers affordable options.
Harder is motivated in part by the fact she lives with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. After enduring whole-brain radiation therapy and ongoing chemo treatments every three weeks, she says she is driven to expand her businesses.
'It just kind of gives you a wake up call to make sure that you're living the life that you want to lead,' said Harder, who has four children between the ages of 15 and 21. 'I hope that my stores can create a legacy for my family, and for Alex, too, at Style Encore. I find being busy is the best cancer cure of all.'
Friends Alison Wolfe and Karen Toews visited the store for the first time Monday and were impressed.
'I wasn't expecting it to be this full right away, but it's nice to have a lot of options here,' Wolfe said.
Toews appreciates Style Encore focuses on selling quality items.
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'We're not necessarily looking for the fast fashion. We're looking for the stuff that will last a little longer,' she said.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Winmark Corp. advertises itself as 'the resale company.' In addition to Style Encore, Plato's Closet and Once Upon a Child, the U.S. company owns the retail resale brands Play It Again Sports and Music Go Round.
As of December 2024, Winmark had 1,350 franchises in operation.
There are more than 65 Style Encore locations in Canada and the U.S.
Aaron EppReporter
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.
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