Sisters Warehouse Sale, the boutique fashion emporium based in Southampton, returns to Picton this weekend.
Now managed by Sheila Caputo, Sisters enjoys a stellar reputation for quality and price — and a cult-like following.
“Last year, our first year, was fantastic,” says Sheila. “The Gazette and CountyFM brought in the locals, while with our advertising we had six different groups come from out of town — and they all stayed the night.
“For many of them, it was their first time in Picton. They are coming back this year for the sale and to go to the Gather event.”
The Warehouse Sale takes place at the Picton Community Centre. Ms. Caputo is particularly pleased to overlap with Gather in the County, which is on the same weekend at the Crystal Palace.
This year, the Sale will be bigger.
“We made a TV commercial to air in Kingston and the surrounding area — we expect the County to have wonderfully busy weekend,” says Sheila.
“For our first sale here last year we went a bit conservative, just bringing a sampling, really, of what we have to see what people liked, and we were overwhelmed with the response.
“So, this year is definitely bigger and better. More Italian linens, spring jackets, more casual shoes, unique one-of-a-kind finds, summer dresses, and more sizes.
“Our clients asked for easy-to-care-for linen to wear every day, and casual leather sandals that look dressy.”
The Sale is growing this year. “We are hosting a slightly smaller pop-up in Oakville, June 26-28, and we wrap up the summer in Southampton, August 28-30, where we are celebrating 21 years in business.”
Sheila has a lifetime of experience in the trade. She started in the 1990s, at Hudson’s Bay, where she worked in both the wholesale and retail sides of the clothing business. She left in 2000 to work exclusively in wholesale, importing European footwear for independent retailers.
“I wanted to do a pop-up sale but something unique, a boutique warehouse sale.”
The rest is history. The by-then well established Sisters Warehouse Sale was looking for a new owner. Sheila snapped it up, bringing with her a lifetime’s worth of trade contacts across Europe and North America, forged at trade shows in Toronto, Montreal, Las Vegas, and Italy.
She buys from European importers and distributors across Canada, as well as from factories and wholesalers in Poland, Turkey, and Italy.
“After the spring/fall season sales are over in stores, if a wholesaler has excess inventory stored in a warehouse somewhere, they will sell it to us at a steep discount.
“We pass that discount on to our clients.”
This year’s sale is stocked with Italian linens, leather footwear, and Canadian designers including Mélissa Nepton, Naya, Kozan, Elissa and Paolo Tricot, as well as dresses by Scapa, a husband-and-wife team who import European fabrics they cut and sew in Montreal.
She hopes to establish a feeling of collaboration with other fashion retailers across the County
“We respect and work with the communities we enter.”
“This is not a one-off event. We want to establish a presence and a tradition in the County.”
“A huge thank you to the community, and to the ladies who work the sale — they rock getting this event all set up. And to the shoppers we are pleased to offer incredible deals. Everything is 50-80 percent off retail prices.”
The Sisters Warehouse Sale is at the Picton Community Centre, 375 Picton Main Street, this weekend, June 12-14. Friday and Saturday 9am-7pm, and Sunday from 9am-2pm.
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