Published Article

HeadlineCharity supermarket could transform the charity retail business model

Short HeadlineCharity supermarket could transform the high street

StandfirstThe success of the UK’s first multi-charity shop shows the potential for our high street to be reimagined with sustainability and affordability at its heart.

Creators of a charity supermarket in Brent Cross Shopping Centre say that selling pre-loved clothing from multiple retailers under one roof could be a blueprint for breathing new life into Eailing high streets.

Walking into Charity Super.Mkt – a pop-up store at the site of a former Topshop – is like stepping back in time to the heyday of shopping on the British high street. Vibrant colours, stylishly dressed mannequins, and upbeat music drifting across a busy shop floor.

The project is the brainchild of Wayne Hemingway, founder of the Red or Dead fashion brand, and Maria Chenoweth, the CEO of TRAID. And you can tell from the brand’s bold aesthetic that this is the work of two experienced retailers.

This highly curated experience is charity shopping reimagined. Pre-loved, not second hand, vintage, not old, and shabby-chic rather than scruffy. But it’s not only the look and feel of the charity shopping experience that is being reimagined. Founder of Charity Supermarket, Maria Chenoweth, says the approach could transform how charity retailers operate:

“This is re-evaluating the charity retail business model. Here, the money we can make in one day – if all those charities had to go out and retail that, they’d have to pay the bricks and mortar, there’s a lot of overheads that eat into the profits.

“This is a business model that is actually, potentially, more profitable for the charities and appears to be more enjoyable for the customers.”

Will there be more charity mega stores?

Less than a week after opening, Charity Super.Mkt creators say the space is proving popular with London shoppers – to the extent that they plan to take the concept on tour.

They hope the idea – a collaboration between ten charities –  will breathe new life into the high street and tempt young people to shop in more economical and sustainable ways.

Wayne Hemmingway said: “When you shop in a charity shop, you know that your hard-earned money is going to a good cause…and you’re part of the circular economy, sustainability and climate change.

“Most importantly, you’re hitting the kind of market – the demographic – that anybody would want to hit – people with purpose.

“Especially Millenials, Gen Z and Gen Alphas, who are the focus of this movement. People pay a fortune to market to them. And charity shops market to them.”

Thinking beyond the month-long pilot, the creators of Charity Supermarket say that the new business model could be used to regenerate our high streets, which still contain gaps left by the collapse of big names like Debenhams.

A report by Local Data Company at the end of last year found that 61% of former Debenhams stores remain vacant two years on from its collapse with no plans in place for reoccupation.

Wayne Hemmingway said, “All these big empty shops that have not been filled from Woolworths, from Debenhams to Topshop, it’s time to fill them with this.

“We want to make it a blueprint. You know we’ve gathered shops and created a brand: the brand works. We’ve created a movement in terms of charities, and we’re now going to make this work nationally.”

The pop-up at Brent Cross Shopping Centre is open until 25 February.