How to raise profits in a charity shop

Miss_Heartilly

I volunteer for a small charity shop that sells mostly £1 items. The shop makes anywhere between £75 to £135 a day. On a nice warm sunny day the profits are on average £75 and on a wet day they are about £45 on average. The manager told me a few weeks ago that the shop was on the brink of closure should sales not improve. So, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas. I run the shop 3 days a week so would really like to turn things around.

bengalknights

You could try selling food such as home made cakes biscuits etc

Miss_Heartilly

Thanks for the reply but unfortunately we are not allowed to sell food.

Savvy_Sue

Without knowing the shop, hard to comment. I feel here that you could take me into any of the local charity shops blindfold and I'd know which charity it was for, just by the way it was set out (some are great, others not so much ...) and whether the size indicators on the hangers were coloured or all black (different colour for each size makes it MUCH easier to see what's in my size, btw!)

So, does your charity have other shops, and could you visit them / pinch ideas from them?

Is there anything useful on the Charity Retail Association website?

Mary Portas covered charity shops in her series, didn't she? google that and see if there's anything useful in the links you get.

gingerdad

the Mary Portas series is on youtube and worth a watch.

for me you need to look at what stock you are getting in, can you use some of the methods in the Mary Portas show to get better stock.

can you look at your pricing and ensure you have a policy on how to price with guidelines on brands etc to make sure you're not giving away designer stuff for a £1.00

i was involved in setting up and running two charity shops for 3 years and we where turning over 100,000 a year in one and 150,000 in the other - both small town areas but we where really lucky with the quality of what we had donated.

can you use ebay etc to get better returns on some items

PasturesNew

Well ... it's not the price is it! I'll walk out of most charity shops these days as I can't afford the stuff that catches my eye and/or you can be paying almost new/retail price. e.g. yesterday, do I want to buy second hand shorts from somebody else's crotch area for £6, or do I wander into £land who sell shorts brand new for £6?

So, if it's not price it must be any combination of:
- what you're selling
- the quality of what you're selling
- the shop layout/attractiveness, including window displays
- the people who come in (are they poor?)

Look at what's selling and what's not.... and reduce the quantity of stuff that is not selling. Encourage donations of things that are selling by putting notices in the windows asking for those things.

Are you allowed to start an ebay shop? Do you have the time/space/skillset in the building to do that? Could you advertise for a couple of new volunteers to do it for you between them?

Any scope to jazz up the ambience/layout?

Take a notebook out and wander round other charity shops and see what they do that looks better, or is getting more people in the door, etc. Get everybody to do that and have a "brainstorming" session of what you think you can reasonably change without a budget - or shortlist some skills required and advertise locally for volunteers to help transform the shop.

Ideas can be endless... but without knowing your shop and its unique traits, we're all just poking around in the dark.

Miss_Heartilly

Thank you all for the suggestions/advice so far. Here is a little more information about the shop and area it's in.

The shop is fairly small with two long rails stretching down the full length of the shop. One is situated above the other. There is a small unit that displays shoes anywhere roughly 12 pairs at each time. Then another small rail next to this with dresses on. All usually priced at a £1 unless it's something designer then it will be either £2.50 or £3.00 (depends on who's marking it up) There is a box of handbags under the window, with some handbags on a shelf above the rails. In the middle of the shop there is circular type rail with mens clothing and childrens. Then four units full of bric a brac (ie ornaments, vases, etc..) one shelf full of CD's (3 for a £1) and one unit full of DVDS (50p each) and one unit for books. Ourf books are 25p each or 6 for a £1. Above these units is a shelf, with more vases on it, jigsaw puzzles, blu ray boxsets, cushions etc.. there is also as corner for kids toys such as puzzles, books and soft toys. These are on a shelf and some are in a box.

The shop has recently been given a make-over. it looks more organised and tidier now and just more appealing in general. I also put the best stock in the window and all clothes are like new (some still have shop tags on) or in very good condition. The shop is in a small town with two other charity shops just 2 minutes away, not sure if this makes a difference or not. these other charity shops sell clothes between the prices of £1.99 to 3.99. A quick google search suggests people in this town are on a lower income in general.

The charity does have other shops, but the one I work in is the only £1 shop they have.


It's always the same regs that come in, usually older women in their 60's or 70's or middle aged women.

I was thinking of a 50p clothes sale, but maybe lowering the price is not the best idea. As the price is already very low compared to other charity shops. Just yesterday I took just £116 for the day, 9.00am-4.00pm with another volunteer saying that was too low, as the running costs are far more each day... not sure how she worked that out.

gingerdad

We found by washing the bric-a-brac and cuddly toys and making sure we never had that charity shop smell - the stock always looked at its best and thus sold, and had a really quick turnover of stock. but was lots of hard work for the manager and the volunteers.

what sort of quality of stock do you get? can you improve it made asking the parents at a local school to donate an item each - worked well for us got loads of new or nearly new stuff.

00ec25

Miss_Heartilly wrote: »

I volunteer for a small charity shop that sells mostly £1 items. The shop makes anywhere between £75 to £135 a day. On a nice warm sunny day the profits are on average £75 and on a wet day they are about £45 on average.

do mean profit or turnover? I grant that a charity shop should be working on 100% profit margin so if you are only selling 75 items per day them you need to look at why you are not getting enough customers through the door given that your prices cannot be the issue if you are selling at £1. Put prices up where possible and/or get more customers....

like a poster above, the charity shops in this area use fixed prices for clothing so, for example, a "shirt" is £5. That could make it ridiculous for a supermarket own label item, or great value for a designer one. The point is we all flock in to see what they've got, and crucially they clear unsold stock off the shelf every 3 weeks as a deliberate policy to establish a reputation for always having fresh stock so you need to keep going back to see what is "new"

Miss_Heartilly

Sorry, I meant turn over not profit.

I have put a few prices up on the really good stuff, ie designer stuff. Like the louis vuitton handbag we got in, that I sold for £15 it's worth about £400. The bag was in perfect condition as well, didn't look used at all. I know some may have charged more, but some customers where even rolling there eyes at the £15.

We also do a rotation of the stock on the shop floor every two weeks, sometimes every week. So nothing is there too long.

How can I look at why I am not getting enough customers through the door? The shop is presentable and we are cheap I don't know what else I can try.

I suppose I could hand out leaflets or something to advertise the shop.

We get quite alot of good donations so quality of stock doesn't seem to be the issue.. people often walk in and walk out at times and I am at a loss to why this is.

Aquamania

Miss_Heartilly wrote: »

Sorry, I meant turn over not profit.

I have put a few prices up on the really good stuff, ie designer stuff. Like the louis vuitton handbag we got in, that I sold for £15 it's worth about £400. The bag was in perfect condition as well, didn't look used at all. I know some may have charged more, but some customers where even rolling there eyes at the £15.

We also do a rotation of the stock on the shop floor every two weeks, sometimes every week. So nothing is there too long.

How can I look at why I am not getting enough customers through the door? The shop is presentable and we are cheap I don't know what else I can try.

I suppose I could hand out leaflets or something to advertise the shop.

We get quite alot of good donations so quality of stock doesn't seem to be the issue.. people often walk in and walk out at times and I am at a loss to why this is.

What affect did putting "a few prices up" have on turnover?

So you think your prices are not OTT, you think the quality of stock is good, the shop is presentable, etc.
(although you said the store was recently given a make-over. What did that cost? What effect did that have on turnover?)

Why do you think people are not coming through the doors?
Why do you think those that do come through the doors are not buying more?
Have you asked those people who come through the doors these questions?

You say "people often walk in and walk out at times and I am at a loss to why this is."
So it doesn't seem to me that you have any issue with getting people through the doors. What you have an issue with is converting those people who walk through the doors into paying customers.
Have you asked them why they leave the store without buying anything?
(Maybe it's to shelter from the rain/sun etc )

What does the manager think should happen? She's in charge! (or should be)
If you run the store 3 days a week, what does the manager actually do??? :huh:

Looking at your previous posts, am I correct that you have only worked there 4 weeks (if that?)