Pawn Shops Are Going Upscale for Affluent Clients
Maybe it’s the original artwork displayed around the office or the soft lighting, paneled walls, Persian rugs and leather furniture. The receptionist adds to the aura, too. So does the TV screen turned to a financial-news channel.
Whatever the reason, Biltmore Loan and Jewelry feels more like a stock brokerage or private-banking office than a pawn shop.
Still, the Scottsdale company makes loans collateralized on personal belongings. It thus fits the legal definition of a pawn shop and is regulated as one, despite the upscale touches.
“We want to give people a professional option with dignity,” said David Goldstein, Biltmore’s president and a veteran jewelry retailer. “We’re private, quick and discreet.”
Pawn-brokering might be associated more with dingy storefronts cluttered with junk and customers desperate to scrape up enough cash for groceries or rent. But the recession, credit crunch and slow economic recovery have hit Americans up and down the socio-economic ladder, and that has created an opportunity to serve a more high-end clientele for firms like Biltmore.