ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Two teenage sisters in Delta County are putting their entrepreneurial spirits to work with a new business.
Nineteen-year-old Emma Bowden and 16-year-old Maycee Kuhlman started Gladstone Savers in their mom’s basement less than a year ago.
“We buy pallets of Amazon merchandise, Target merchandise, and unclaimed mail packages,” explained Emma. “We sort everything out that’s in it, find the retail price of it, and we mark it down 50% – 70% off the retail price.”
Their mom bought the first pallet, and they took over from there. They began selling merchandise to a growing customer base on Facebook.
“We thought it would be easier instead of people coming to our houses that we had our own shop open so they can come in and look around themselves,” Maycee said.
In December, they officially opened a storefront at 3205 Danforth Road in Escanaba. With new products coming in often, Emma says Gladstone Savers offers something for everybody.
“We have kids stuff, clothes, toys,” she said. “We have a lot of Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween decoration.”
“Most of it is household items that you’d need and use,” Maycee said.
“We have a small men’s section,” Emma added, laughing, “We’re working on that one!”
The sisters say the community has given them a warm welcome. While business has been good so far, they have aspirations for even more.
“I am hoping to get a bigger storefront in a more busy area, like Main Street,” Emma said. “We’re kind of in the back of the town right now, but I would like to see it go bigger, maybe do some shipping.”
Mayce, currently a student at Rapid River High School, says co-running her own business has been great preparation for the future.
“To have money so we can grow and go to colleges, be able to get stuff that we want when we’re older, and just be able to do things with our lives,” she said.
Having moved away from home, Emma says Gladstone Savers has helped strengthen her bond with her family—especially her sister.
“We were all kind of here and there; nobody was home at the same time,” said Emma. “Then we started this, and we all kind of work together.”
“It’s nice to come here and talk to each other and be able to work together as a business,” Maycee said.
Days and hours of operation are posted on the Gladstone Savers Facebook page.
