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Trade News Archive 2010 January February March
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2nd March 2010
Retailers impacted by 'indistinguishable' charity shops
Some of the UK's smaller retailers are struggling to cope with the competition brought to town centres by charity shops.
An area of debate among many small outlet owners for some time, the issue has come to the fore again in Leek, with the opening of the town's 13th charity store, according to the Sentinel.
The new Salvation Army premises have angered some independent shop owners who claim it will affect trade.
Karen Woolley, the Federation of Small Businesses' regional organiser for Staffordshire and the West Midlands, said that charity shops had modernised and were, as such, a much more competitive force.
She told the news provider: "Charity shops in 2010 are very different from a few years ago and many are almost indistinguishable from other high street businesses.
"[The] concern is that the bigger charities are using their charitable status to undercut businesses. [High street] land use plans and short-term planning policy should take into account the needs of small businesses."
Last year, charity shops sold £600 million of donated goods, raising £120 million in profit.
Cancer Research has nearly 600 stores across the UK.
© 2010
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