New charity shop

[Lynne]

New Mary Portas type charity shop opening on the sit of Moo Too. Sign of the times even in ED?

Lynne

[lane lover]

Unsure what "times" you are talking about.

The UK economy is looking better than the previous 6 years:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25345249

Good to see another charity shop though. Beats real estate agents!

[edcam]

Another one? That's ridiculous.

[Sue]

What's a Mary Portas type charity shop?

Didn't know she pushed charity shops?

If it will be as good as the big hospice shop, then I'm delighted. Source of most of my wordly goods, lately :)

[nxjen]

For those, like me, who didn't have a clue what a Mary Portas Charity shop is:

"Mary Portas charity shops were first regarded as a crux of the High Street ? in 2009 she embarked upon revitalising Save the Children charity shops with gusto, creating a ?different? sort of charity shop in the form of ?Mary?s Living and Giving Shop? (be warned of hyperbole!) Portas seemingly disregarded what many see as the beauty of the charity shop ? its uniqueness. The stores became diluted and clinical, less individual and more like any other retailer. ?Living and Giving? shops can be found today in suburban gentrified neighbourhoods, with inflated prices where profit is paramount. So what ? as long as they are operating for charity? Isn?t modernising a positive step to remain competitive? There is definitely an argument for the cause here, as surely more profit equates to a greater benefit for the parent charity and the greater good? On the flipside however, by locating in affluent areas, potential customers who could actively benefit from affordable second-hand goods at a local level are excluded. People who really need access to cheap second-hand items are thus priced out of the market by the organisations which are arguably supposed to be there to help them."

Full article http://ihurerblog.org/2013/05/22/780/

[Sue]

Oh dear :(

Bit like "Give and Take" down by the EDT, then? Except that more of the money actually goes to the charity?

That's disappointing.

[Louisa]

Another charity shop? Anyone got a life jacket cos the ED ship seems to be sinking faster than the Titanic currently. How ridiculous. Why don't we have a couple more Indian take aways and an estate agent whilst we are at it?

Louisa.

[edcam]

If there's a petition I'll sign it. So I expect would the people running the ample number of charity shops already in ED.

[giggirl]

I'm very loyal to St Christopher's.

[Sue]

edcam Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If there's a petition I'll sign it. So I expect

> would the people running the ample number of

> charity shops already in ED.

xxxxxx

Eh? What "ample number"?

So far as I know, there's:

The Mind shop

Two St Christopher hospice shops, one extremely small.

and that's it. Apart from a tiny one up past the Plough.

[edcam]

Sue Wrote:

>

> Eh? What "ample number"?

>

> So far as I know, there's:

>

> The Mind shop

>

> Two St Christopher hospice shops, one extremely

> small.

>

> and that's it. Apart from a tiny one up past the

> Plough.

Plus Give & Take. That's ample for the area IMO.

[nxjen]

edcam Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If there's a petition I'll sign it. So I expect

> would the people running the ample number of

> charity shops already in ED.

I'm shocked at such an uncharitable attitude, and I doubt anyone running one of the few charity shops already in East Dulwich would in fact sign any such petition. Thankfully any petition would have little chance of success. Who would it be addressed to?

[edcam]

nxjen Wrote:

> I'm shocked at such an uncharitable attitude.

> Thankfully any petition would have little chance

> of success. Who would it be addressed to?

I'm shocked that people think it's a good idea to dilute the stock of the charity shops that are already there, whose trade would suffer as a result of yet another shop arriving. But that clearly doesn't bother you.

[Sue]

edcam Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> nxjen Wrote:

> > I'm shocked at such an uncharitable attitude.

> > Thankfully any petition would have little

> chance

> > of success. Who would it be addressed to?

xxxxxx

>

> I'm shocked that people think it's a good idea to

> dilute the stock of the charity shops that are

> already there, whose trade would suffer as a

> result of yet another shop arriving. But that

> clearly doesn't bother you.

xxxxxx

I think it's highly unlikely that existing charity shops' trade would suffer.

I buy clothes, books and bric a brac at the existing charity shops, but often there is nothing there I want. If there were more charity shops, then I'd be more likely to buy more because there would be a wider selection.

It's not as if it's another butcher opening when there are already x butchers in the area. It's completely different.

[edcam]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> I think it's highly unlikely that existing charity

> shops' trade would suffer.

>

> I buy clothes, books and bric a brac at the

> existing charity shops, but often there is nothing

> there I want. If there were more charity shops,

> then I'd be more likely to buy more because there

> would be a wider selection.

>

> It's not as if it's another butcher opening when

> there are already x butchers in the area. It's

> completely different.

I disagree Sue but let's just see.

[Sue]

I don't consider Give and Take a charity shop.

It's vastly more expensive than "normal" charity shops, and not all the money taken goes to charity.

[Lynne]

I think the trade for the existing shops must suffer; there is, after all, only a finite amount of surplus people are willing to donate. The jam, so to speak, will get spread more thinly. Unless experts can prove, of course, that a concentration of similar shops brings in more trade.

Lynne

[alji]

It's going to be a Save the Children shop.

[Sue]

Lynne Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I think the trade for the existing shops must

> suffer; there is, after all, only a finite amount

> of surplus people are willing to donate. The jam,

> so to speak, will get spread more thinly. Unless

> experts can prove, of course, that a concentration

> of similar shops brings in more trade.

> Lynne

xxxxxxx

I'm not sure that's necessarily the case.

The large hospice shop, for example, always seems to have a room full of stock at the back waiting to be put out.

I used to donate things to Trinity Hospice (on Clapham Common) to sell at their charity shops, and at the hospice itself they always had an overflowing room full of stock which their shops didn't have room for.

My gut feeling is that there will be plenty of stock for all the charity shops including the new one. There's certainly generally loads of stuff being given away free on this forum. In a relatively prosperous area, people give away things they've tired of in order to replace them with something newer.

[aquarius moon]

I agree with Sue.

Every charity shop has something different. Everybody has different tastes, so you only buy things that you want when you see them.

They are never really in competition with each other.

[DaveR]

"On the flipside however, by locating in affluent areas, potential customers who could actively benefit from affordable second-hand goods at a local level are excluded. People who really need access to cheap second-hand items are thus priced out of the market by the organisations which are arguably supposed to be there to help them"

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the rationale of charity shops - they are there to raise funds, and if they sell their goods too cheaply they are not doing their jobs properly. There are various charities that collect second hand good for direct distribution to people in need, and every donor has a choice about what to give and to whom.

[fluffy]

Charity shops serve a dual purpose, one is of course to raise funds for the charity the other is to allow people with lower resources to buy items they could not otherwise easily afford. Which in itself is a form of charity. Placing them in affluent areas allows people who are in position to give to do so, and there are plenty of people even in leafy suburbs who need charity shops.

[easytiger]

These shops have been rolled out in "posh" areas of London. Brand new gear is donated by top brands and sold in the shops with a big percentage of net profit going to save the children. The shops look like they are fitted out to high specs. They need donations from the community too. Opening next Saturday from noon.

She's a clever lady.

Mary's living & giving

[KalamityKel]

easytiger Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> These shops have been rolled out in "posh" areas

> of London. Brand new gear is donated by top brands

> and sold in the shops with a big percentage of net

> profit going to save the children. The shops look

> like they are fitted out to high specs. They need

> donations from the community too. Opening next

> Saturday from noon.

>

> She's a clever lady.

>

> Mary's living & giving

Bit of a teeny space to fit out to "high specs" though no?

Or was the point saying that whilst it's a charity shop it won't look shabby so people shouldn't grumble about "lowering the tone" of the area?

[hellosailor]

I'm quite often told they have no room for more donations when I go to take stuff to the charity shops in ED so I should think there's enough donations in the area to stretch to another shop