photo by: Mike Yoder

Susan Cook, owner of Lasting Impressions, 711 W. 23rd. St.

Some people buy life insurance. I buy used blazers. As long as the world has barbecue sauce, buying a full-priced blazer is the biggest risk I have to mitigate, so I’ve been known to buy a few on the cheap. But soon us second-hand buyers will lose one of Lawrence’s oldest and largest resell shops.

I’ve gotten word that Lasting Impressions is closing after nearly 28 years in business.

Lasting Impressions is the large retailer in The Malls shopping center at 23rd and Louisiana that sells used men’s and women’s clothing, accessories, and home furnishings. The business has about a 5,000-square-foot space devoted to the used clothing — both casual and professional — and a separate 2,500-square-foot space for used furniture and home furnishings. Both stores will close sometime next month, said owner Susan Cook.

Cook said the store’s lease expires at the end of April, and business has not been strong enough for her to feel comfortable signing a new lease.

“I hate that it is coming to an end, but the economy and so much competition has made it impossible to keep it going,” Cook said.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Susan Cook, owner of Lasting Impressions, 711 W. 23rd. St.

On the competition front, chain stores such as Plato’s Closet and Ditto have entered the Lawrence market in recent years, although they are geared a bit more to the teen market than Lasting Impressions ever was. The Salvation Army and Goodwill have upgraded their stores’ presences in Lawrence too over the years.

But the bigger factor may be the changing nature of retail in general. Selling name-brand clothing in a brick-and-mortar store is difficult. JCPenney is closing its Lawrence store, nationally Sears and Kmart appear to be on life support, Macy’s is struggling to redefine itself, and the list goes on.

“I think the landscape of retail is going to change a lot in the next few years,” Cook said. “I just see so much going to online. The millennials will buy anything online. They even buy their groceries online.

“I feel bad for anyone who likes to go into a store, see it, feel it and try it on.”

She is gearing up for more store closings in the future.

“My husband keeps saying that he thinks America is going to right-size itself,” Cook said. “We have so much of the same thing. Look at how many chicken places we have.”

photo by: Richard Gwin

Kasey Lane, a worker at Lasting Impressions in The Malls Shopping Center, sorts through clothes for sale Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009.

Lasting Impressions’ closing may have an impact not just on buyers but on some sellers too. The store operated under a different business model than most of the resellers in town. People sold their items — the store generally only accepted name-brand items — on consignment. Cook said the standard arrangement was the seller would receive 40 percent of the purchase price once an item sold. Most other stores would buy the clothing outright, but generally for pretty low prices, she said.

“A store might buy a J. Crew top for a dollar and maybe sell it for $20,” Cook said. “So maybe I wasn’t too smart in how I did that, but we did it that way because we always want to treat people right.”

Cook said that philosophy paid off in customer loyalty over the years. She said she’s already heard from many customers who are sad about the store’s pending closure. Cook clearly is too.

“I’m just going to miss so many people,” said Cook who said she plans to stay in the Lawrence area and look for work after the store’s closing. “My customers, my staff, I’m going to miss them terribly. I have eight people who are losing their jobs. I’ll miss them all. You make a lot of friends in 27 years.

“I just feel fortunate and grateful that we’ve been able to serve the Lawrence community the way we have.”

As for an exact closing date, Cook said it will be dependent on inventory levels. But she said the store likely will close a bit before the April 30 deadline. The closing creates another large vacancy for The Malls, which recently saw its tenant Radio Shack also close.

In other news and notes from around town:

• While we are reporting retail closings, I’ll pass along that a major downtown one has taken place. The Buckle completed its last day of business in downtown on Sunday.

We reported in January that The Buckle — a clothing retailer — was closing its store at 805 Massachusetts St. But back then, we didn’t have a closing date to report. A sign on the window says the store’s last day was March 26.

The company has no plans to open a new store Lawrence, but rather is directing customers to its stores in Topeka or Kansas City. The closing marks the end of a more than 25-year presence in downtown Lawrence for The Buckle.