Retail

Our shops bounced back in 2021 reopening in April after the third lockdown and for the first time since December 2020. During 2020 we reviewed the profitability of each of our 32 shops and decided to close several of our less profitable outlets. Our estate reduced from 32 to 19 shops (and ecommerce). Despite the reduction in shop numbers, 2021 saw us achieve our best-ever net profit of £1.53m from sales of £5.1m.

We continued on our mission to be “London’s answer to sustainable fashion” and in 2021 we removed the bric-a-brac offer from all shops, focusing exclusively on womenswear, menswear and fashion accessories in our high street shops.

Over the counter and corporate donations both increased in 2021, though maintaining stock levels remains a continued focus. Since the start of the pandemic, we have upgraded nine shops and fully refitted three shops. We have expanded and relocated our ecommerce offer and renovated our stock and logistics operation.

During 2021 we invested in additional Assistant Managers in our shops to support the sevenday trading operation along with a dedicated Training & Development Manager to support and coach the team. Recruitment and retention remain challenging for both paid and voluntary staff, though we are trialling new initiatives to address these challenges.

The outlook for 2022 remains positive with very encouraging sales in the first two months. We have opened our first new shop since 2019 in Earl’s Court in June 2022 with a further store opening in Clapham towards the end of the summer. A full refit of Notting Hill is planned for August and a relocation of our Wimbledon branch in the autumn.