The high street has undergone several changes since the start of the recession, a key difference being the flood of retailers abandoning stores to set up in out of town retail parks or even cutting back on their commercial property base in order to focus on e-tailing. This has, understandably, forced remaining retailers on the high street to alter their business plans in order to remain in profit. Charity shops have suffered greatly in the new era of the high street, with many failing to attract consumers and donations to help their cause.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF), for example, posted flat like-for-like sales in the year to April when compared to the previous 12 months of trading. Similarly, Oxfam suffered a 9.9 per cent fall in net income – a figure it largely blames upon the poor economic conditions causing shoppers to cut spending dramatically in its UK network of stores.
However, the BHF has managed to combat the issue of falling profits by thinking outside the box. In the year to April, it opened a total of 36 new sites, 16 of which were larger than the usual properties it tends to lease.
This means that the stores are now capable of stocking more sizeable donated items, including furniture and large electronics. In fact, the charity now operates 165 dedicated electrical and furniture stores in order to fill a niche in the market.
As a result of the new store openings, which brought the BHF’s portfolio to 738 properties, profits rose to £31.1 million for the year. When the fact that the charity made £8 million in profits from its network of stores ten years ago, this certainly seems like an impressive result.
And although the volume of donations being handed in at stores across the country remains worryingly low, the BHF managed to form links with a furniture retailer in order to stock its larger properties with bargain pieces.
With the economic situation still having a negative effect upon the disposable income of UK consumers, it is only to be expected that charity shops will continue to struggle in the coming months. However, by showing initiative and finding alternative providers to keep shelves well-stocked, it is highly possible that profits will continue to grow for chains of this sort well into the future.
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