While this means that customers who missed the Rochas coat during the trunk show might be able to find it on the site months later, during the normal fall shopping season, it also means that Moda needs to buy, store and sell a large inventory of clothing, just like a department store or Net-a-Porter.

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Threads of Time (446 W 6th St, 310-833-0568) has hard-to-find vintage apparel, while Cheap Vintage Inc has a huge inventory of bargain clothing and some notably racy mannequins in its window display.

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Overstock changed its business model in 2012 primarily in clothing and shoes, from a direct inventory-based model to a fulfillment partner-based model with the aim of reducing exposure to discounts and seasonal inventory risks.

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Its dealerships are distinctively designed, looking and feeling more like woodsy lodges than showrooms, with plenty of amenities and a full inventory of value-added Land Rover gear and clothing on hand to ensure nobody walks out the door without making a purchase.

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Growing up in Hillsborough, California, an affluent suburb 20 minutes south of San Francisco, he spent weekends schlepping inventory among his parents' chain of local women's clothing stores--for no pay (he earned money cleaning cases for a jewelry store).

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Participating restaurants offer up a fixed number of tables per night, making VillageVines a tool for them to move unused inventory without lowering prices across the board, as Gilt does with designer clothing companies.

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The challenge for her company, the Oakland, California-based Mannequin Madness, was keeping track of an ever-changing inventory of heads, torsos and limbs, so it could meet the varied needs of a diverse client list of clothing boutiques and department stores.

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