Charity Super.Mkt, the ‘department store for second-hand style’ launched a year ago by Maria Chenoweth and Wayne Hemingway, will open its 17th location with a prime spot inside Buchanan Galleries in May – it marks a return to the city for Hemingway whose Red or Dead brand occupied a space on the adjoining Buchanan Street in the 1990s.
The opening of the Buchanan Galleries store comes hot on the heels of the fast-expanding pre-loved fashion brand taking over the ground floor of the former Fenwick’s building on Bond Street in central London. Other recent Charity Super.Mkt launches have included Manchester, Westgate Oxford and Bluewater in Kent.
The opening of the 2,500 sq m store responds to the growing popularity of pre-loved shopping and will create a unique retail experience for guests looking for quality, affordable fashion.
The Charity Super.Mkt concept has proved hugely popular thanks to its curated collections of second-hand fashion. To date, 225,000 items of clothing have been snapped up, generating sales which have just reached £2m, creating a much-needed additional income stream for the likes of Shelter, Cancer Research, Age UK and TRAID.
Kathy Murdoch, Centre Director at Buchanan Galleries, said: “We’re incredibly proud to support local charities and community groups, so to be able to add a hugely popular, multi charity-supporting store really is great news.
“The trend for pre-loved fashion is growing year-on-year and we’re committed to evolving our offer so we stay relevant for our guests. This is not the first time we’ve welcomed a pre-loved fashion brand, but it’s certainly the biggest opening we’ve had to date.
“Charity Super.Mkt is a proven concept that has been exciting shoppers across the UK and their ethos aligns with our continued commitment to becoming a more sustainable retail destination, so we’re delighted to welcome them here.”
Wayne Hemingway, Charity Super.Mkt Co-founder, said: “Glasgow has proven over the years to be at the forefront of style and cultural movements and second-hand and vintage clothing has always been popular in the city. To be opening a store just yards away from where we opened Red or Dead in the 90s feels pretty surreal.
“At Red or Dead, Glasgow was our trend barometer. We’d test things there and if it didn’t sell in Glasgow we knew it wouldn’t work – if it did, we’d roll it out.
“We’re on a journey to show that charity fashion could and should be part of a modern retail mix in the busiest of shopping centres – we’ve done it in the biggest sites in London, Manchester, Bristol and Oxford and we’re expecting Buchanan Galleries to have the same success.”
Charity Super.Mkt co-founder and TRAID CEO, Maria Chenoweth, commented: “Charity Super.Mkt has brought charity retailers into mainstream retail as the demand for ‘resale therapy’ grows and grows.
“We’re giving charities the opportunity to raise more funds, and that means more nursing time in hospices, more support for animals, more research into cancer and in TRAID’s case, more support for the people who make our clothes.
“It’s good for customers, allowing them to do their bit for society, it’s good for the environment, because we’re reusing and recycling, and it’s good for shopping centres, creating footfall and a broader retail mix. But most important of all, it’s generating much-needed income for charities.”
Data last year from the Charity Retail Association showed that second-hand shopping is booming with sales increasing 15 per cent year-on-year between January and March.
Charity Super.Mkt will open at Buchanan Galleries on 9 May and will be located on the ground floor opposite the LEGO store.
