High Street gloom is not shared by charity shops

According to the Charity Shops Survey 2008, charity shops in the UK seem to have beaten the economic slowdown as shoppers look for value away from the traditional High Street chains. The profits of the top charity shops rose 7.4% to a total of £106.7m over the past year.

The pain being experienced by UK households has been a benefit to chains such as Oxfam, with profits of more than £21m. According to the report, the biggest growth came from the Salvation Army, which saw its profits surge 64%. Most analysts have linked the increases in charity shop profits to falls across the rest of the retail sector as the credit crunch has started to bite.

Recent figures from the British Retail Consortium show that retail sales values were down almost 1% from July 2008, but while mainstream retailers have been struggling, some charity outlets have been preparing themselves for an increase in business. The BBC quote David Moir from the Association of Charity Shops saying that his members were well placed to buck the economic downturn.

“Trading conditions, as for all retailing, are now extremely tough,” he said. “However, evidence from previous slowdowns is that charity shops are well placed to weather economic storms as cash-strapped consumers turn to them for value for money. If charity shops continue to respond to consumer needs, then they are well-placed to come out of this downturn in a good position.”

Charity ‘profits’ in the Charity Shops Survey 2008, as reported by the BBC:

Oxfam £21m
Cancer Research UK £16m
British Heart Foundation £14.4.m
Salvation Army £6.2m
British Red Cross £5.1m