Why must we all own lots of things? Could we own less and share more? That is the simple premise of Gransky's book which I think does represent an important business model of the future. We are beginning to see a rejection of the rampant consumerism which gripped us through the 80's and 90's. People have begun asking - "Do I need that?" Certainly an important question for many people who current sell "stuff."
One of my clients, Main Street Cyclery, will begin accepting bikes on consignment with the vision of "Repair, Refurbish & Resell." Many customers are no longer driven by the need to buy purely new product and as long as the product is of good quality, has a brand backing and a local business to stand behind it, why not buy used? For that matter, do we need all of the items we think we do?
Clothing and food are both items which seem to consume a disproportionate amount of our discretionary income as US citizens. We also spend a good amount on entertainment (TV, cable, movies, etc...). It is interesting to see how many consumers are turning to Netflix and Hulu for content delivery. Again, this is a "sharing" model for business. You don't have to own the DVDs, you get to share a copy with strangers. What do you think?
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