Business owner seeks collateral success

The pawn business, at least for one local entrepreneur, remains a growth industry.

In fact, America's Super Pawn owner Greg Twarowski says sales at the chain's three stores, in Manatee and Sarasota counties, are up significantly in 2013 over 2012. Two stores for example, including the newest one, which opened in summer 2010 on U.S. 41 in Bradenton, reported sales increases of at least 25% in recent months. “We had a kick-ass February,” Twarowski tells Coffee Talk.

Twarowski, however, won't rest on the growth. He instead opened a new store, Carats Fine Jewelry & Watches, that sells new and used jewelry, including products from several well-known brands. Carats, which opened in March in a shopping center near U.S. 41 and Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota, also provides collateral loans — the pawn industry staple. The store, further, will repair jewelry.

“We will do pretty much anything related to jewelry,” says Twarowski, a native of Poland who declared political asylum in the United States in 1990 to escape turmoil back home. “We are not a traditional jewelry store.”

While Twarowski senses opportunity in the jewelry market, he also remains confident in the continuing success of America's Super Pawn. He opened the first store in Bradenton in 2004, and he spent more than $1 million in 2008 and 2010 to expand to three stores. (See Business Observer, July 16, 2010.)

Those stores offer everything from guitars to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Plus, says Twarowski, the stores sell thousands of DVDs in a variety of genres that are priced as low as $1 apiece. Twarowski believes the DVDs, especially with the demise of brick-and-mortar chains like Blockbuster, have attracted a new set of customers to the pawn stores, and that has helped propel the growth.

“We have done a good job building the America's Super Pawn brand,” he says. “People are more comfortable coming in.”

Twarowski says one more factor in the growth is the success of the reality TV show “Pawn Stars” on the History Channel. Says Twarowski: “It has helped open up the entire pawn industry.”