As retailers suffer, thrift stores thrive

When the going gets tough, the tough get thrifty.

Retailers across the country are reeling, with mass store closings and some high-profile bankruptcies expected, but sales at thrift stores have risen substantially this year. The trend is most pronounced in areas hit hardest by the recession.

Goodwill Industries International, based in Rockville, Md., said that national sales rose 7 percent in the first 10 months of the year compared with the same period last year. The Salvation Army has seen sales gains of 20 percent in some areas from March through October.

Yet both groups say donations of cash and goods have fallen - which limits the charities’ abilities to fulfill their missions and stock their shelves.

But the sales growth is expected to continue.

“We expect that we’re going to see a fairly dramatic increase in the numbers of shoppers at our retail stores through the first quarter and the second quarter of 2009, either by choice or out of necessity,” said Brendan Hurley, vice president of marketing and communications for Goodwill of Greater Washington, which operates nine stores.

“Our key objectives in the first half are focusing on generating more donations for one simple reason: We’ve got to make sure we’ve got the inventory to meet the growing demand. …

“What’s interesting is that we usually see sales drop off as soon as we hit the first week of November [as consumers tend not to buy used items as gifts], but they increased until the third week of November,” Mr. Hurley said.

The Salvation Army is seeing similar growth.

“We only have anecdotal information so far, but we have seen general uptick in sales,” said Melissa Temme, director of public relations at the Salvation Army, which has its headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

According to a survey by the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops, sales have increased, on average 35 percent during September and October compared with the same two months last year. The most recent data available also revealed that 90 percent of the stores surveyed had experienced an increase in new customers.

The Salvation Army estimates that national sales rose between 1 percent and 10 percent from March through October compared with the same period last year. But in certain regions that have taken the biggest hits, sales are soaring.

Salvation Army stores in Detroit and Southern California have seen some of the charity’s strongest sales gains. Detroit’s economy is sputtering with the auto industry while Southern California deals with some of the most severe hits of the housing collapse. Sales growth also has been notably strong in the South.

Three Salvation Army stores in Northern Virginia, which are all run by Maj. Mike Vincent, have seen about a 10 percent increase in sales from March to October.

A 65,000-square-foot store that opened last month in Manassas, Va., has seen solid sales, though figures were not available.

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