The Origin of the Alexandria Boutique Warehouse Sale
If you don’t know, you’re about to know. Old Town Alexandria is hosting their annual warehouse sale this weekend – with over 50 boutiques participating and up to 80% off on some items! These boutiques need to make room for their spring offerings, and guess who gets to benefit? The shoppers!
The Warehouse Sale celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year, and I have to admit, this will be my first. To hear its evolution and just how much it’s grown – I went straight to the source, Elizabeth Todd, the founder.
“So how did this idea spark?” I asked her.
“I had been in business for about a year and a half and had all this inventory. I called a liquidator to buy it, and I was not happy with their offer. I can clearly get rid of shoes for more than a dollar! Small businesses don’t have a Nordstrom Rack or Neimans, so I wrote letters to other business owners and heard mixed feedback about hosting this type of big sale. Some said I’d be out of business in no time if I did it. Of course, I didn’t listen,” she said.
Elizabeth being interviewed by Fox 5 DC last year
The first few years it was held at one location, the Campagna Center with tables and popups, and participants included, “Bellacara, Hysteria, the Lily Pulitzer store, Gossypiya…and more. People would snake a line outside, so that they didn’t overwhelm the vendors and had a flow of entry. It then moved to the Masonic Memorial and the Westin after that, where there was a little more capacity for people to grab coffee or lunch while they waited to get in,” she added.
As you can imagine it was a huge undertaking to organize this event and have so many different shops and vendors cart over their items and set up remotely from their stores. So when did it become walkable and why? The last year it was held at one indoor location was in 2020; this was shortly before Covid changed everything.
Charlotte Hall being interviewed by Fox 5 DC last year
In 2021, we were still in the throes of Covid, and the first vaccine was just being made available to those most in need. That’s when it was decided that the warehouse sale would become a walkable one – arming shoppers with a map and a mission: to visit the stores on their list during this two-day sale. “After 16 years, it had become such a big undertaking, and I was happy when Charlotte Hall and The Old Town Business Association took it over, and this way more shops and boutiques are able to participate. What’s really great about the Warehouse Sale is that it encourages people to go to stores that they might not visit otherwise.”
The core of the Warehouse Sale is Sat., Feb. 3 and Sun., Feb. 4, with some boutiques hosting a VIP pre-sale earlier in the week.
Elizabeth’s tips for having a successful shopping experience? Check out the map and participants, note the individual hours for each, and make sure you go to your favorite stores first. And if they’re having a pre-sale, definitely go!
All three of Elizabeth’s stores: The Hive, The Shoe Hive and Yellow Jacket will have items for up to 60 - 80% off. She shared, “The first year we had no idea what we were doing and we didn’t know if anyone was even going to show up. We had no dressing rooms, and people were stripping down naked and doing makeshift dressing rooms with their coats.” Things have certainly evolved. Don’t miss the Warehouse Sale this weekend! Follow @alxwarehousesale on Instagram for updates!
