Thrift shops thrive amid economic downturn

The Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries Internationalhave report year-to-date sales increases.

By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
The two largest US charitable resale organizations, The Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries International, have reported year-to-date sales increases of 6 percent to 15%, a likely reflection of American worries about the state of the economy. The gains are even more pronounced in the private sector. In an industry trade-group survey of more than 200 resale and thrift shops, nearly two-thirds of those businesses reported higher sales in 2008 compared to the previous year. The average sales increase: 35%. Consumers "can't change the price of gas. They can't change the price of food. They can't make the stock market go up again," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops. "But they can control the price of clothes and furniture by being a savvy shopper." The Salvation Army store in Dublin, Georgia, located halfway between Atlanta and Savannah, has seen its sales increase by 50% this year, said store operator Gary Spivey. The comparative affluence of his new customers is obvious. "We're seeing a lot more middle-class and upper-class customers we haven't seen before," he said. "Without even asking, you can just look in the parking lot" at their cars. Savers Inc., a for-profit thrift store chain based in Bellevue, Washington, has had a 10% growth rate, said chief executive officer Ken Alterman. The company now has 220 Savers and Value Village stores in the United States, Canada and Australia, and expects to open 25 new stores in each of the next several years. According to Alterman, 75% of the company's customers are college educated, with an average income between $50,000 and $65,000. Thirty percent of its customers have household incomes exceeding $100,000, he said. Some of the chain's most successful stores are in Redmond, Washington, home to Microsoft; the high-end waterfront in Victoria, British Columbia; and the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Widespread economic turmoil and personal financial struggles aren't the only factors driving the increased interest in resale retail, experts say. A growing "green" ethos among American consumers has also propelled the industry. In the Missouri college town of Columbia, both Goodwill and The Salvation Army report recent sales increases of roughly 25%. April Hayes, a 28-year-old legal secretary, has shopped at the Columbia Goodwill store for six months at the urging of her mother and sister. During a recent weekday lunch break, she combed the store's racks in search of business attire. "I've gotten addicted," she said. "You can pay $2 or $3 for the same thing that would cost you $400 at the mall." The surge in thrift store sales has its downside, though. The Salvation Army reports a dangerous decline in donations. Just as consumers are now more likely to buy secondhand goods, they are also less likely to get rid of their used clothing or furniture.