Each week we share with you our pick of the best stories on charity retail, shopping secondhand and the circular economy from the UK, Ireland and around the world.
We also add links to relevant Charity Retail Learning courses associated with each article to help you implement some of the ideas we’re sharing
Here’s our pick from the past 7 days
Increase in charity retail shoppers over the winter
The Charity Retail Association shared more good news this week, with a 9.1 per cent increase in the average number of transactions per day in charity shops compared to 2021. You can read more about it here
Charity shops see boost in shoppers over the winter | Tenby Today
Are you taking part in the Big Help Out?
This is a great opportunity to promote volunteering in your retail operation – make sure you keep in touch with what’s happening. More info on this is also available from the Charity Retail Association
Recommended:
Vinyl resurgence – are you aware of the value of your vinyl?
Vinyl is a great seller again – and especially in charity shops. This Big Issue article highlights the joys of secondhand vinyl.
Are you using Discogs to value your vinyl? It’s a fab site and a great source of pricing info
Charity shop vinyl tells the story of our musical journey | The Big Issue
H&M Selling PreLoved via ThredUp
Greart to see another mainstream retailer like H&M working with ThredUp and moving into the preloved market:
Inside H&M’s Strategy to Become a More Sustainable Organization | My Total Retail
Recommended:
Introduction to ecommerce | Charity Retail Learning
You saw WHAT in a charity shop…..?!!
When you have your coffee break, why not have a romp around the curious things that end up in charity shops with examples from Oxfam, Air Ambulance, Barnardo’s, Severn Hospice, Sue Ryder, Goodwill, and many more (WARNING – some of them are a bit saucy!)
And don’t forget there’s an award for the most unusual donated item, so get your entries in!
Recommended:
Right stock, right shop – how to effectively stock your shops | Charity Retail Learning
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits be their brilliant best.
Charity Retail Learning provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver training to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach – Dan O’Driscoll offers a first class executive coaching service
The Charity Retail Marketeer – Julian Temblett can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser – Kat Maclennan helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
Each week we share with you our pick of the best stories on charity retail, shopping secondhand and the circular economy from the UK, Ireland and around the world.
We also add links to relevant Charity Retail Learning courses associated with each article to help you implement some of the ideas we’re sharing
Here’s our pick from the past 7 days
2023 Charity Retail Awards
It feels like the blink of an eye since we celebrated the best of our sector at the postponed awards for 2022 – and here we are again, with nominations open for this year’s accolades. If you need help crafting the perfect nomination, get in touch to see how we can help
Charity Retail Awards 2023 are GO!! | Charity Retail Association
Charity Shop Girl scoops Most Fashionable Mama award
Whilst we’re on the subject of awards, we want to say huge congratulations to our friend Jen – aka Charity Shop Girl – on receiving Most Fashionable Mama at the Glomama awards. Very well deserved!
Recommended:
Charity Shopping with Jen, the Charity Shop Girl | YouTube
Guide released on how to make the most from your book donations
Our friends at Shopiago have produced a helpful guide on processing books – and how they can help with bulk collections. You can read more about it and download the guide here
Making the most from your book donations – Guest blog by Shopiago | The Charity Retail Consultancy
Royal Trinity Hospice take sustainability even further
A great example from Royal Trinity Hospice on how to really commit to sustainability in all elements of a charity retail operation
Recommended:
Donation days initiative
Our friends at Isabel Hospice are fabulous innovators – and their Tonnes of Care campaign is a great example. This article features a fab partnership that’s yielded some fantastic results already
Isabel Hospice donation days at the Dutch Marketplace | Welwyn Hatfield Times
Merger builds strength for Responsible and Haru
New developments in Northern Ireland as these two businesses join forces
Circularity platform Responsible acquires re-commerce provider Haru | Fashion United
Cats Protection brings positive vibes to Penrith
Lovely to see such a positive story around the new Cats Protection shop in Penrith. Focusing on a great shopping environment, sustainability – and creating jobs for local people who’d been made redundant after mainstream retailers in the town had closed, this ticks all the boxes. We wish them lots of success.
New charity shop set to open in Penrith – Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
Recommended:
Space management – making the most of your shop floor | Charity Retail Learning
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits be their brilliant best.
Charity Retail Learning provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver training to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach – Dan O’Driscoll offers a first class executive coaching service
The Charity Retail Marketeer – Julian Temblett can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser – Kat Maclennan helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
At this time of year, you can find yourself with a bit of money left in your expenditure budgets.
Sometimes it’s because you’ve managed to get better deals than you’d hoped. Other times planned and budgeted-for work just hasn’t happened. That may be because of things like time pressures and staff shortages – or just dealing wit those curve balls that can come out of the blue in our sector.
Well, here’s the good news. We have a way that you can put that underspend to good use – and will reap rewards for you well into the future.
Invest in your team
Investing in your team is always a good move. Motivating, upskilling, valuing and supporting staff and volunteers through training opportunities is a massive factor in any charity retailer’s success. And Charity Retail Learning can help provide you with all of that.
Here’s how:
- All our content is completely focused on charity retail, making the training relevant and resonant from the outset
- Our team support you every step of the way, making signing up and managing your team’s training quick and easy
- It’s simple to access, with our click-through courses all accessible from a laptop, tablet or phone
- Our Subscription offer gives your whole team of staff and volunteers access to all of our content at a massive discount
- Individual courses start at just £25 plus VAT, making them affordable for every charity.
- We provide reports for you to see how your team is progressing – and certificates for every learner when they pass their course
Our learners love our courses!
We’ve supported thousands of charity retailers through their learning with us. Here’s what some of them have to say:
“Excellent course and tutor, information was so relevant and helpful”
“This is a very informative course, and even though I’ve been involved with Gift Aid for some time I learnt some golden nuggets of information. The pitch and pace were excellent”
“Tutor was amazing – didn’t bombard me with info but made sure I knew all the relevant stuff – and also gave me a chance to do exercises based on my own shop”
“This course is so informative, gives a clear overview, offers best practice, and really gets you thinking differently about how to approach your work.”
Keeping it simple
Because we’re charity retailers, we understand the challenges and restrictions you can face in so many areas of your work. So we’ve designed our services to be as easy as possible for everyone involved.
Whether you’re a Head of Retail wanting to upskill your team, a Learning & Development lead looking for relevant and great value training, or a Shop Manager taking a course in the back room of your shop – you can relax and let us sort it all out for you.
To find out more about Charity Retail Learning and how we can help you make the most of your underspend – or to plan for the coming year – drop us an email or visit our website.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits be their brilliant best.
Charity Retail Learning provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver training to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach – Dan O’Driscoll offers a first class executive coaching service
The Charity Retail Marketeer – Julian Temblett can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser – Kat Maclennan helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
Our friends at Shopiago have a range of guides to help you make the most from your donated stock. They’ve just launched a new one on books so we’re happy to share their insights here.
Pre-loved books are some of the most commonly donated items to charity shops, but these generous donations can quickly start taking up valuable space and can be hard to shift.
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits (including museums and galleries) develop their retail operation, improve their product offer and people, and improve their profitability.
The Charity Retail Learning provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver Charity Retail Learning to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach offers a first class executive coaching service via our Associate, Dan O’Driscoll.
The Charity Retail Marketeer can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
Each week we share with you our pick of the best stories on charity retail, shopping secondhand and the circular economy from the UK, Ireland and around the world.
We also add links to relevant Charity Retail Learning courses associated with each article to help you implement some of the ideas we’re sharing
Here’s our pick from the past 7 days
Charity Super.Mkt – MK2!
Have you heard the news? Following its fantastically successful (and now extended) run at Brent Cross, Charity Super.Mkt is being rolled out to Reading. Check out the details here if you want to be involved:
Charity Super.mkt: Reading … we’re coming for you! | Charity Retail Association
Recommended:
Visual Merchandising | Charity Retail Learning
Planning & Running a Charity Pop-up Shop | Charity Retail Learning
Mary’s Meals shops chain to close….
We were gutted to hear that Scottish charity, Mary’s Meals will be closing it’s shops later this year. Another victim of rising costs.
Mary’s Meals closing all its charity shops in Scotland | The Oban Times
…whilst Wales Air Ambulance begins its expansion
We’re delighted to see our friends at Wales Air Ambulance are opening a new store In Mold today – on St David’s Day. We wish them every success for this and their future plans – and Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!
Leaving goods outside a charity shop is fly tipping
An interesting article about fly tipping in Berkshire, highlighting that leaving donations outside charity shops could lead to a fine
Let’s scrap fly tipping | West Berkshire Council
Recommended:
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits (including museums and galleries) develop their retail operation, improve their product offer and people, and improve their profitability.
The Charity Retail Learning provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver Charity Retail Learning to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach offers a first class executive coaching service via our Associate, Dan O’Driscoll.
The Charity Retail Marketeer can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
Each week we share with you our pick of the best stories on charity retail, shopping secondhand and the circular economy from the UK, Ireland and around the world.
We also add links to relevant Charity Retail Learning courses associated with each article to help you implement some of the ideas we’re sharing
Here’s our pick from the past 7 days
Celebration!
In celebration of winning 🏆 Supplier of the Year 2022 🏆 at the Charity Retail Awards we are offering 10% off on all upcoming live webinars! Use the code CELEBRATE at check-out to claim your discount.
Thank you to everyone who voted for us. We look forward to making 2023 another fantastic year of learning.
Offer lasts until 22/02/23 so order now to not miss out!
Race equality week – show your commitment
Did you know that this week is #RaceEqualtyWeek? As a sector we still have a lot of work to do to make our shops and workspaces more inclusive. The Charity Retail Association has a commitment to dismantling racism in the sector – something every charity retailer and supplier to the sector should familiar with.
Charity Retail Learning also runs an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for Charity Retailers webinar. This is the only EDI course created specifically for our sector and provides a safe space to explore conscious and unconscious bias in ourselves and others, and shares practical, positive ways to challenge non-inclusive behaviour & language.
Race Equality Week | Race Equality Matters
Charity Retail Learning: Equity, diversity & inclusion for charity retailers – 7.3.23
Hello Thriftcore!!
Charity retail is right at the top of the news just now – and we love this article about Thriftcore – the latest manifestation of charity retail
Why the Thriftcore trend is here to stay | Fashion United
Fre Course: Introduction to selling on Depop | Charity Retail Learning
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits (including museums and galleries) develop their retail operation, improve their product offer and people, and improve their profitability.
The Charity Retail Learning provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver Charity Retail Learning to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach offers a first class executive coaching service via our Associate, Dan O’Driscoll.
The Charity Retail Marketeer can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
Each week we share with you our pick of the best stories on charity retail, shopping secondhand and the circular economy from the UK, Ireland and around the world.
We also add links to relevant Charity Retail Learning courses associated with each article to help you implement some of the ideas we’re sharing
Here’s our pick from the past 7 days
Celebration!
In celebration of winning 🏆 Supplier of the Year 2022 🏆 at the Charity Retail Awards we are offering 10% off on all upcoming live webinars! Use the code CELEBRATE at check-out to claim your discount.
Thank you to everyone who voted for us. We look forward to making 2023 another fantastic year of learning.
Offer lasts until 22/02/23 so order now to not miss out!
2022 Charity Retail Award winners announced at last!
We were delighted to join charity retailers and suppliers in Birmingham last week to take part in the postponed charity retail awards. A full list of winners is listed here – and we were so humbled and thrilled to be included as Supplier of the Year (Category A). Thank you to everyone who voted for us – and congratulations to all the winners.
The charity retail awards winners 2022 | Charity Retail Association
Charity Retail Awards: Supplier of the Year 2022 🏆 – YouTube
Charity Super.Mkt launch hits the headlines
We’ve loved seeing all the news about the launch of the Charity Super.Mkt pop up in Brent Cross – and all the associated press about charity shops that it’s helped to generate too. Including a great article in The Telegraph, featuring our very own Jayne Cartwright.
Here’s just some of the fabulous coverage from the last week:
Ho charity stores lost their dusty image to become top of the shops | Telegraph
Brent Cross: Charity department store opens in ‘UK first’ | BBC News
The UK’s first charity-shop department store has opened in Brent Cross | Timeout
Charity shop superstore opens in Brent Cross, London | LondonWorld
First multi-charity retail store opens in London |Civil Society
Recommended:
Planning & Running a Charity Pop-up Shop | Charity Retail Learning
Tips for spotting valuable furniture
If it’s a good tip for the flippers – it’s a good tip for the retailers too! Some helpful pointers here on what to look out for when assessing the value of furniture
How to tell if your charity shop find is worth thousands | NationalWorld
ThredUp x commercial retailers – stepping up to the resale market
More news from the US on how commercial retailers are moving into the resale space
How ThredUp is growing its retailer resale business | Modern Retail
Recommended:
Introduction to ecommerce | Charity Retail Learning
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits (including museums and galleries) develop their retail operation, improve their product offer and people, and improve their profitability.
The Charity Retail Learning provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver Charity Retail Learning to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach offers a first class executive coaching service via our Associate, Dan O’Driscoll.
The Charity Retail Marketeer can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
We were delighted to once again win Supplier of the Year at the Charity Retail Association Awards this week.
The ceremony – postponed from September 2022 – was held in Birmingham, and showcased the best of charity retail.
Our award is for suppliers with up to 50 member clients, with Nisyst and Acopia winning the other supplier categories.
Our success means we hold onto the crown we won the last time this accolade was awarded in 2019.
It goes without saying that we are thrilled to win – especially as the award is the result of an open vote by CRA members. This shows that our work supporting the sector is valued by charities at the coal face – something that is so important to us.
The Consultancy provides help, advice and support in lots of different ways to charities of all sizes – so if you want to know why we’ve been voted as the best, get in touch for a chat and see how we can help you and your retail operation.
Thank you to everyone who voted for us and congratulations to all the winners.
Here’s to a bright and successful 2023 to us all!
——————————————–
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits (including museums and galleries) develop their retail operation, improve their product offer and people, and improve their profitability.
The Charity Retail Academy provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver Charity Retail Learning to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach offers a first class executive coaching service via our Associate, Dan O’Driscoll.
The Charity Retail Marketeer can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
Each week we share with you our pick of the best stories on charity retail, shopping secondhand and the circular economy from the UK, Ireland and around the world.
We also add links to relevant Charity Retail Learning courses associated with each article to help you implement some of the ideas we’re sharing
Here’s our pick from the past 7 days
Charity Super.Mkt launches on 27th Jan
Lots of you will have heard by now about the Wayne Hemingway x Traid collab that’s pulled together 10 charities to take part in a charity superstore at Brent Cross. It’s great to see everyone working together to raise income and awareness.
Contributing charities include Age UK, All Aboard, Barnardo’s, Cancer Research, Emmaus, Havens Hospice, SCT, Marie Curie, TRAID, and Shelter.
UK’s first multi-charity preloved pop-up fashion store to open at Brent Cross | TheIndustry.fashion
Recommended:
Planning & Running a Charity Pop-up Shop | Charity Retail Learning
ThredUp – who are they and how do they work?
ThredUP is the world’s largest online thrift store – you may have seen the stats they produce, but how much do you really know about them? This article provides some great insight
Recommended:
Advanced Social Media Webinar | Charity Retail Learning
Latest celeb endorsement of shopping secondhand
It was great to see the story of Deboarh Meadon from Dragon’s Den talking about how she finds her best clothes in charity shops. Do you have a local celeb who maybe supports your charity, or who you’ve seen in your shops? It’s always worth asking if they can talk about their preloved finds to promote your charity.
Dragons’ Den legend Deborah Meaden gets her clothes in charity shops | Metro News
Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity celebrates success
It’s lovely to see this article from our friends at Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity – and they’ve cleverly used the good news to put out a request for stock too. What are you doing in your chain that you could share with the press and on social media?
Record-breaking year for Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity shops. | Bucks Radio
Recommended:
Managing for success | Charity Retail Learning
Mastermind – how did you do?
We were shouting out the answers at the TV last week – were you?!
History of the charity shop to feature on BBC’s Celebrity Mastermind | UK Fundraising
Recommended:
Charity retail – history, trends and current statistics | Charity Retail Learning
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits (including museums and galleries) develop their retail operation, improve their product offer and people, and improve their profitability.
The Charity Retail Learning provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver Charity Retail Learning to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach offers a first class executive coaching service via our Associate, Dan O’Driscoll.
The Charity Retail Marketeer can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
Blog by Julian Temblett – ‘The Charity Marketeer’ for the Charity Retail Consultancy
With fundraising facing big hurdles, charity retail finds itself at the top of the opportunity pile, due to the growing demand for pre-loved and cost of living crises – with marketing set to play a crucial role in its success. And by marketing, I don’t just mean communications and branding but marketing in its broadest sense. This includes having the insight, strategies and propositions in place, with your charity and partners engaged – to recruit volunteers, source stock and drive sales.
But are you, your teams and your charity 2023 marketing ready?
Take the 5-minute Retail Marketing mini-health check to find out.
Marketing mini-health check
Marketing Services
Find out more about our suite of Marketing Services here
More About Us
The Charity Retail Consultancy helps charity retailers and other non-profits (including museums and galleries) develop their retail operation, improve their product offer and people, and improve their profitability.
The Charity Retail Learning provides online & face to face training developed by charity retailers, for charity retailers. We work in partnership with the Charity Retail Association to deliver Charity Retail Learning to their members and beyond.
The Charity Retail Coach offers a first class executive coaching service via our Associate, Dan O’Driscoll.
The Charity Retail Marketeer can support you with all your charity’s marketing needs
The Charity Retail Merchandiser helps you create stunning and profitable displays in store and online
To find out more or to speak to us about how we can help you, please get in touch:
hello@thecharityretailconsultancy.co.uk
Jayne – 07598 243210
Vicki – 07985 574904
Follow us on social media:
