Oxfam is to trial discount charity stores after saw a 2.5% fall to £22.9m in shop income for the year to March 31, as it struggles in the face of competition from value retailers such as Primark and the lack of high quality goods donated by consumers.
Products will be available in block prices, £1, £2 and £3, in an effort to savvy shoppers.
With the discounters right behind the big four grocers, now selling clothing, charity stores are beginning to seem relatively expensive in comparison. Oxfam has particularly struggled as Britain spends less on new clothes.
Andrew Horton, Oxfam‘s Trading Director, said: “People have more choice … the charity market is very competitive with the high street and you have to think like you are a retailer and consider what‘s on the shop floor.”
Oxfam‘s decision follows charity Tenovus which launched a highly successful pound shop in Newport, south Wales and managed to sell 3,000 items a week
