Tucked inside an Edwardian church on a quiet stretch of Southsea, St Margaret’s Community Shop sells good-quality high street fashion for a pound or two. It isn’t a charity shop – and that’s the point. I spoke to the volunteers who run it to find out why it works.
Small shop, big care
Volunteers choose and curate the stock each week. Women’s clothing is grouped by “new in” and then by colour, with seasonal rails; shoes and jewellery are grouped by type. Most items cost £1 to £3, and the shop opens on Thursdays and Fridays. About two-thirds of donations are good enough to sell – the rest goes to textile recycling.
Who shops at St Mags?
Around three-quarters of customers are women and a quarter men, from young mums in their twenties to regulars in their eighties. Casual separates, children’s clothes and toys, the “new in” rail and well-displayed jewellery sell best. During the cost-of-living crisis, volunteers noticed people buying what they need rather than what they want.
People before profit
Prices can flex for customers who can’t afford them, and people who are homeless or refugees can take what they need as a “zero sale”. Volunteers greet everyone. For them, and for many regulars, the shop is about company and warmth as much as bargains – and its income helps fund the church’s wider work.
Second-hand is growing
Second-hand shopping is booming in the UK, driven by value and sustainability. St Mags shows what makes a community shop stand out in that market: a distinctive setting – a church redesigned by Studio B.A.D Architects, which won an Architects’ Journal award for social sustainability – and a welcome that keeps people coming back.
Lessons for charity shops
- Merchandise donated stock like new: “new in” rails and colour blocking make browsing easy.
- Well-displayed jewellery sells – presentation matters at every price point.
- Listen to customers: changing fixtures in response to feedback has lifted sales.
- Community value is real value – and worth telling people about.
Read the full article
Read the full article, “St Mags: Fashion at the heart of the community”, on the CHORD RetailHistory blog (1 October 2023).
Run a charity or community shop?
I help charity and community retailers improve windows, layout and displays to raise more – and train the volunteers who make it happen. See the sectors I work with.