A HYNDBURN charity shop is struggling to keep up with demand after rebranding itself as a £1 store.
Manager Tasneem Khamker says ever since she made the change a few weeks ago she has seen a huge increase in takings at the Age UK Lancashire shop in Accrington.
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Last week she doubled her target income and is also having to put out more than 200 new items a day in the shop to keep up with demand.
“We are actually the only charity pound shop in Lancashire as far as I know.
“There’s so much competition in Accrington and it’s hard to compete against the much larger shops like the British Heart Foundation.
“We’ve tried so many things to build extra income. Now there are more people coming in and people do not think twice about buying, they are buying in chunks with people spending £20 and other customers coming in three times a day.
“People can’t believe it, that they are getting such a bargain. They keep asking how much things are and we say £1.
“We are getting through 800 garments a week, before we were only putting out 300 to 400,” she said.
“There are lots of discount shops in Accrington but not many clothes shops, this is a new venture and it’s working so far. All our customers are really enjoying it.”
The shop in Whalley Road is an established part of the Accrington shopping scene but the charity said they had to do something drastic to compete with the retail outlets.
Michael Whewell, of Hyndburn Chamber of Trade, welcomes the idea saying it was great news that the charity was able to raise more money. “Discount stores are part of our retail landscape across the country these days. This change sounds like a success story.”
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