In a very telling turn of events, the cornerstone of charitable clothing retailers, Goodwill, is shutting multiple locations and laying off many of its dependent staff in one state.
However, each Goodwill outlet is a separate, independent business with financial situations. These closures are isolated to this particular group — 13 stores are closing in California. There are more than 3,300 independently owned Goodwill stores in the US.
Let’s examine why some are closing.
The chain thrift store built itself on the idea of helping out the community. By taking in good-quality donations, they are able to employ the disabled, veterans, and other people in need. It was designed as a nonprofit, solely out to do good.
But the economy is changing drastically in the US, and has been for a number of years. Wallets are tighter than ever before, and people simply don’t donate to Goodwill as much as they used to. Rather than give their unwanted clothes to thrift stores, people are reselling items so they can pay their bills. The age of abundance is over.
That’s why Goodwills in California are feeling the strain.
13 Goodwill Locations Set To Shut Up Shop
The report by KRON4 states that a total of 13 Goodwill stores will close permanently in California. This includes four Bay Area stores and six donation sites. Alongside these, Goodwill will close two regional headquarters and an Oakland warehouse.
Hundreds of staff will lose their jobs as a result of the closures. However, they are all being offered the opportunity to apply for new roles in other stores and locations. This isn’t the best option for many of them, though. Goodwill has always given priority to disabled hires as well as veterans. They are often not able to uproot and move their lives.
“While never an easy decision, it became necessary to close a few store locations due to their size and operational limitations where store revenues were not enough to cover operational and personnel costs,” San Francisco Bay Area Goodwill spokesperson Rodney Scearce told KRON4. “Our goal in the coming months and years is to open new locations in the Bay Area that are larger and financially more sustainable.”
Along with a decline in donations comes rising wages and overheads for stores like Goodwill. The staff need to be paid a living wage, and that simply isn’t doable when the items in the shop are priced too low. Overheads, paying for power and rent, are also higher than they have ever been.
Because of this, people have noticed thrift stores like Goodwill have jacked prices up. Now, it’s actually cheaper to buy ‘fast fashion’ for your clothes, importing from abroad, or simply pop to a superstore like Walmart for all the other bits. Goodwill is no longer the cheap option.
In this case, their business model has not been able to withstand the US economic downturn. Because of this, Goodwill is being forced to shut several locations and let staff go in California.
