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Laguna fashion truck joins the mobile fleet

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Perhaps it’s no surprise that we’ve already moved beyond the food truck.

Nowadays, there are trucks specializing in almost everything: shoes, vinyl, flowers, aromatherapy, yarn, cigars, eyeglasses and fashion.

In Laguna Beach, you may have seen the eye-catching truck parked on South Coast Highway with “GypsetMermaid” on the side. Owned by Kristy Cueto, 28, and Tammi Belcher, 35, the fashion truck joins the fast-growing mobile business market that shuns traditional retail in favor of a new generation of shoppers.

“By no means are we the first fashion truck in the world, but we researched the idea and made it our own,” said Cueto, who lives in South Laguna. The two women are celebrating their first year in business in November.

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Cueto said it’s been a learning experience but they’ve managed to stay afloat.

“We got inspiration from the food truck industry and wanted something that was different than the normal day-to-day, 9-to-5, brick-and-mortar store,” she said. “Something that fit our lifestyle —always on the go, coastal and free-willed.”

The name “gypset” is a play on gypsy and jet-setter.

“It’s nomadic and fun and always going different places and finding inspiration wherever you might go — girl on the go,” Cueto said. “Mermaid is the coastal aspect and whimsical and beautiful. Especially living in Laguna Beach, we want to incorporate the whole coastal aspect.”

To succeed in a mobile business takes a combination of timing and panache, according to the industry group American Mobile Retail Assn., which was started in 2011 by a fashion truck team. The group said only a few retail trucks existed at the time but that it has now helped well over 500 nationally, many often centered in major cities. On average, a truck costs $20,000 to $25,000 to get going.

Los Angeles, with its large fashion district, has the largest number of trucks.

If the food truck industry is any guide, fashion trucks should maintain rapid growth for a time. According to Emergent Research, by 2017 food trucks will generate about $2.7 billion in revenue, up from $650 million in 2012.

Cueto said that despite the good prospects, it’s still a hard business and it hasn’t evolved as she expected. Cueto has retail management experience in traditional stores, including fashion stores in Laguna.

“The biggest hurdles, especially in Laguna Beach, is that technically we are considered a street vendor,” she said. “The city doesn’t recognize us as a stand-alone shop, so we can’t just pull up and open up shop for anyone, any time. We thought we could pull up to a busy beach or a restaurant or something.”

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To go to a public event, Cueto and Belcher have to apply for the right permits, usually months in advance. So in order to get cash flowing right away, they have focused more on private parties.

“Every city has a different retailer’s license for permitting, so we’ve gone up and down the coast obtaining all those,” Cueto said. “For bigger events, it’s months and months and months in advance. It’s been kind of surprising. There were certain events we would have liked to be a part of but didn’t have everything together in time. It’s definitely been a learning process.”

In the case of private events, they basically only need the permission of the homeowner or group.

“It’s going well. Our sales are good when we have events,” she said. “We tend to book two, maybe three, events a week, and that’s enough for us. It’s really beneficial that our overhead is so low. We’re never bleeding money, which is nice obviously.”

Some of the initial challenges were a bit unexpected.

“To be blatantly honest, it took us a few months to be comfortable driving this huge truck around by ourselves,” Cueto said, laughing. “Two months into it, our husbands were like, ‘OK, you’re on your own. You’ve got to learn how to drive it.’”

Now the women have managed to get the driving part down fairly well.

“We’re both pretty petite. W we’re both blonde,” she said. “So people look in and see these two blonde girls driving this huge truck, and everyone just laughs and loves it.”

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The vehicle is a former UPS truck, 25-feet long and now outfitted with clothing racks, jewelry, hats and accessories. The owners cater to women on the younger side of the 18-to-50 age group. For more information, visit gypsetmermaid.com.

While they focus on the coastal areas near Laguna and Newport Beach, they have traveled to San Diego, Long Beach and inland cities.

After working out the kinks and getting used to the business, the two say they are ready for whatever comes next.

“Definitely in the beginning we didn’t realize the whole severity of owning your own business,” Cueto said. “At first we were so lighthearted about it, but it’s proven to be so all encompassing that it’s just turned into a much bigger deal and we’re really excited about it.

“It’s not like you’re going in and punching a clock. It’s your business so you want to make it better. It’s your baby.”

DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at hansen.dave@gmail.com.

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