Thrift stores thrive in LA
by Madeline Reddington
Even on a quiet Monday afternoon, sales associates at the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) thrift store on south Fairfax are busy assisting customers and processing fresh donations. Despite a tanking economy and the competition of websites like Craigslist and eBay, non-profit thrift chains like NCJW are staying afloat in Los Angeles. In fact, some even had increased profits in 2008.
Community Relations Manage Christianne Ray of Goodwill Southern California said her branch of the organization hasn't suffered in the area of donations and sales at all.
"We've actually had an increase in sales, and we've had an increase in donations too,” she said.
“I know from what I hear that we're all varying in our sales, so it's not across the board that Goodwill has been faring in these conditions, but our Goodwill is," Ray said. She isn't sure if the Southern California Goodwill's success is due to geographic reasons or because their particular business model is more successful. There are 62 Goodwill locations in the Southern California region, with 21 stores and 14 donation centers located within LA's city limits.
Salvation Army stores have also had increased sales, which are being attributed to both an increase in customer traffic and emphasis on upgrading stores. According to Salvation Army marketing consultant Dawn Marks, sales nationwide have jumped about 7 percent, and the LA stores are on par, or slightly higher than the national figure.
Ray said the sales increases are not unique only to the Los Angeles stores, but throughout the Los Angeles, San Bernadino and Riverside counties. She said these increases in sales are really helpful for Goodwill, because most of the organization's money comes from retail. "What makes us stand out from other organizations is that we are self-sustaining," she said.
"We do have some government contracts that come in, but mainly we do rely on the sales."
One sales associate at a small, privately-owned thrift store on Fairfax said he thinks the non-profit stores are having an easier time staying afloat than private ones. "It's a chain thing," he says "they have more merchandise coming in and more places to sell it and customers to sell to on a regular basis."
The combination of the weakened economy and competition with websites like Craigslist and eBay does, however, have an effect on the donations coming into the stores.
“They’re either holding onto it themselves or selling it on eBay or a garage sale. So yea, the quality has gone down. Big time.”
However, Ursula says this decrease in quality hasn’t kept profits down or decreased the constant flow of customers and donors coming through stores like hers. Instead, she said donors are more likely to hold onto more expensive items to sell on their own, or even shop at thrift stores in order to sell items online.
These good deals on quality, sometimes designer clothing and goods keeps a steady flow of customers coming through most of the city's thrift stores As thrift shopperand LA native Paula Morehouse says, its because "everybody wants a good deal."