Q&A: Tim Gardner, owner of recycled clothing store Xs Threadz

Tim and Cathy Gardner plan to open their recycled clothing store, Xs Threadz, on Nov. 13 in University Village Colorado, the new shopping center on North Nevada Avenue. The store will be managed by the couple’s 21-year-old daughter, Ali Bitner.

The Gardners previously owned Game Land, a game store in Security-Widefield , for 10 years before selling it in April 2008. Tim Gardner took a few minutes to talk to The Gazette earlier this month while purple paint was being applied to the interior of the new shop.

Question: Why recycled clothing?

Answer: My daughter has shopped at stores like this. And we’ve raised four kids, and they grow so fast, we’ve had to be value-driven shoppers. We think a lot of other people are, too, especially in this economy. And I think when the economy recovers, people will be a lot more careful with their money.

Q: How did you come up with the name?

A: We decided to play off the text-abbreviations that kids use all the time.

Q: How have you been building stock for the store?

A: We’ve been buying from friends, and word has been getting out.

Q: Who are your customers?

A: We plan to cater to teens to 20-somethings, both men and women.

Q: What kind of merchandise will the shop stock?

A: All name-brand clothing, jeans, shirts, scarves, purses, colognes, perfumes and jewelry.

Q: Why locate at University Village Colorado?

A: We looked at spaces all over town, and I just thought this was going to be the next big shopping center in the city. Plus, UCCS (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs) is just up the hill with 7,000 students. Those students will be our clientele. And we’re right next to Chipolte, and those are our kind of customers.

Q: How will you keep stock in the store?

A: We won’t do consignments. We’ll buy name-brand, lightly used and freshly laundered clothing, and we’ll pay up to 35 percent of what we’ll sell them for retail. We’ll pay cash right on the spot.
Designer clothes at not-designer-prices. That’s what we’re shooting for.

Questions and answers are edited for space and clarity.