JUNE 2008: AROUND THE STATE
When things get bad, it’s good business for thrift stores
STATEWIDE When
money is tight, a shabby pair of pants from the thrift store
might fit just right. As food and energy prices soar, some
consumers are thinking twice before plunking down $200 for a
new pair of jeans and heading instead to thrift stores.
Local Goodwill
sales are up 9% and donations have increased.
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Tight times for consumers have pushed sales at Goodwill
Industries of Columbia Willamette up by 9% in the past year,
says spokeswoman Dale Emanuel, and donations have increased
15%.
Thrift stores have long been a fashion statement or a
cost-conscious alternative to department stores, but in hard
times, thrift and resale shops rise from their humble origins
and turn into moneymaking machines. The National Association of
Resale and Thrift Shops reports that the industry has been
growing at 5% per year.
Most thrift stores are nonprofits. Others, like Arizona-based
Buffalo Exchange, are for-profit resale shops. The company has
three stores in Oregon and their sales are up 13% from this
time last year, says company president Kerstin Block. In 2007,
they had nearly $50 million in sales nationwide. Customers can
sell their clothes for cash, or trade for store credit. Most of
the store’s used clothes are marked down two to three
times from the original price.
“If it’s a down economy, typically more people are
selling stuff,” says Block. In turn, the company is
selling more because it has more product and shoppers.
In business for 34 years, Block knows the cycle of weak and
strong economies well. Like clockwork, when it’s going
bad it’s good for business, she says.
JASON SHUFFLER
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