In July, The Exchange expanded its Pittsburgh presence by opening a second Downtown location at 416 Smithfield St. Specializing in used CDs, videos and electronic equipment, The Exchange is owned by John Shaninian, who founded the company 25 years ago in Cleveland, and also owns a store at 228 Forbes Ave.
“These are the types of retailers you really need in a business district--people we want to encourage to open more locations,” says
URA loan officer John Burke. “If Fifth and Forbes is the one hundred-percent corner, then Smithfield near Forbes is the ninety-percent corner—there’s a lot of foot traffic.”
The Exchange received an $80,000 loan from the URA to cover costs associated with opening the 3,000 square-foot store. “It's a profitable business. He has sharp business people running the regional offices and stores,” adds Burke, who says The Exchange draws an eclectic clientele, from professionals to
Art Institute students. “The Downtown stores are coexisting; oddly enough, it's two different markets. It speaks well of Pittsburgh. The city was really smart putting its money into the colleges. You have the lifeblood of kids Downtown,” says Shaninian.
Burke, who would not be surprised to see Shaninian open additional locations, was impressed by the company’s business model, inventory and pricing methods. The URA sees the store’s presence as a complement to the ongoing revitalization of Downtown's Fifth-Forbes corridor. "For 60 years, Pittsburgh has had an organization predicated
on the betterment of the city. They actually care about small
stores like ours," says Shaninian, about working with the URA.
The Exchange operates 13 locations in Ohio and six in Pittsburgh.
Writer:
Jennifer BaronSource: John Burke, URA
Photograph copyright © Jonathan Greene