Arabic version: سيفرز تفتتح متجرًا إقليميًا وتثير قلق متاجر الملابس المستعملة في جيلونغ

Savers, the US thrift retailer, will open a large “thrift superstore” on the Princes Highway in North Geelong on August 27, introducing a 2,300-square-metre outlet and 65 local jobs in a former Rays Outdoors building. The company, which has more than 360 stores across the US, Canada and Australia and employs more than 22,000 people, describes the Geelong site as its 10th Victorian outlet.

According to ABC News, charity-run op shops in Norlane and surrounding northern suburbs worry the for-profit store will change local donation streams and customer patterns. Volunteers and managers said their shops rely on community donations and volunteer labour to raise money that is spent locally on emergency relief, community garden plants, room hire and other services.

Some regular shoppers and volunteers expressed mixed reactions. Pearl Fitton, who shops at a Norlane Lions Club op shop, said she would continue to shop at the local store; others, like Arthur Powell, said they planned to browse the new Savers outlet. Volunteers such as Glen Little said smaller op shops offer community spirit and direct help to people in need, while op-shop managers fear Savers’ visibility on Melbourne Road could draw attention away from less prominent, charity-run stores.

Savers says it accepts donations on behalf of not-for-profit partners and pays them a market-competitive contractual rate for raw, unsorted goods, and that its average price per item is less than $10 (averaged across categories). The company also stated it helped divert more than 10 million kilograms of reusable clothing and household items from landfill across its Australian network last year. Diabetes Victoria is named as Savers’ primary partner in Victoria, but the parties describe the details of their supply agreement as confidential.

This matters because Norlane was ranked in 2021 as the most disadvantaged suburb in Victoria among larger population centres, and local op shops direct funds and donated goods back into community services and emergency relief. What happens next: a Deakin University marketing professor predicted the second-hand retail sector would take off in the next five years, a trend the professor said could place indirect pressure on smaller charity shops. The coming weeks will show whether donations and customer spending shift toward the new Savers outlet or continue to support locally run op shops.

Related sections: Australia/استراليا | Victoria | General | Social/إجتماعية | Economy/اقتصاد