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
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