Defying the downturn.....

There's a bit of a funny situation going on at the moment regarding the state of the economy. Many now refer to it as the "Recession" and it is hitting both consumers and retailers hard.

The cost of living is increasing, meaning more consumers have less disposable income to spend on the high street, resulting in companies starting to struggle to survive. Since the start of this whole credit crunch shops such as Ethel Austin and Dolcis have sadly gone into adminstration as a result of shoppers cutting back on their spending.

However it has been reported that although many retailers on the high street are struggling through this economic downturn, charity shops seem to be enjoying some unusual success.

Over the past year the profits in these shops have rose 7.4 percent, with the top money earner being Oxfam who alone, generated £21million in profits. The Salvation Army also enjoyed a 64 percent profit surge. This is compared to highstreet retailers sales which have dropped 1 percent.

David Moir from the Association of Charity Shops explains,

"Charity shops are well placed to weather economic storms as cash-starpped consumers turn to them for value of money"

It seems that charity shops are taking this upturn seriously with British Red Cross planning to refit 140 existing shops and to open 20 new shops.

Hopefully this will keep the charity shops alive and they can ride and survive during the recession storm.

Source from BBC news.

xoxox

All important research......

Okay then here we go,

I did a bit of googling to get me started, something you should no about me is that when ever I'm stuck or need a question answered I google it, that's my catch phrase at the moment "Got a problem? Google it!" You should try it, it's fun.

Anyway back to the point, I googled and managed to come up with a map of all the different charity shops around town, here it is...

looks pretty intense right? So I went back to google and did a little more digging and found a couple of useful websites....

The first website "Time Outs" gave me a long list of top charity shops

The next site which was "Yelp" turned out to be even better though as it gave me exact names and addresses, and the map looks a lot friendlier,

So I am ready to go, got my camera fully charged, my favourite walking boots out and a map in my hand, wish me luck, here I go........

xoxox

The aim of this game ......

Hiya,

Anybody out there? Anyone at all interested in what I have to say? Hopefully by the end of this exercise i'll find at least one person that has become engaged with my page...... well I'm allowed to dream aren't I? haha....

This blogging game is all new to me, I've just sat for half an hour going through the help list trying to bring myself up to speed with exactly how I am supposed to create a post.....

Every blog I have come across seems to have some sort of aim, so I thought I'd share mine with you then we are both singing from the same hymn sheet right?

So what is this "Shoes for a Shilling" page all about?

For the next five weeks i am going to become a dedicated fashion investigator..... my investigation..... CHARITY SHOPS!!

That's right, you did read right, well we all have to start somewhere don't we? I mean i cant just walk into MI5 and demand to be put on the top, most important case they've got, can I? So this is my first ever mini investigation, once I've got this in my portfolio MI5 will be begging me to take part in that number one case ha!

As a fashion lover, I try my best to follow the latest season trends, have as many new pieces in my wardrobe at the start of each season as possible and most of all walk about in the coolest shoes which make everyone want to have a second glance over at. However......there's something going on at the moment, that big dirty "R" word, you no the one, ill mutter it quietly as I don't want to be upsetting anyone, ready?..... "Recession"....... There I said it!! As a result consumers on the high street have less disposable income to be flittering away on the latest outfits and accessories and the big "V" for Vintage is coming back with a bang. For more and more people, charity shops are the way forward....

Over the next five weeks I am going to try and find as many of these shops I can and see what gems and jewels they hold inside. I'm particularly going to focus on the shoe section and see if any of them can fit into current day trends.

Hopefully I have intrigued you and you will join me on my journey to find the best charity shops in town which hold the most interesting jewels at the lowest prices.

Come on.... I'm sure we can have a giggle together.......

xoxox