Shop Location

The prime location for a Charity Retail premises combines visibility, footfall, superb trading partners, a strong town demographic and an affordable lease. Deciding where to locate your shop is vital, as this is the charity’s public face that represents your brand on the high street. 

The area must be able to sustain both sales and donations, so a successful mixed income area works extremely well. Take the time to analyse the areas and study where you can find volunteer support locally in the retail community, which would ideally be close to the Parent organisation/Hospice/Service Centre/Charity head office. 

The proposed retail premises should exceed the desired footfall count, and have a local proximity drop off point to enable accessibility for donations to the shop. This means it must be in a location, within the reputational reach of the parent organisation, to capitalise on the resources and impact the charity has locally. 

The location can be near other charity retailers as competition actually helps the charity benchmark the quality, service, price, brand value etc. Other businesses and trading partners will draw and generate traffic for your shop, the complementary nature of some trading partners is priceless. 

Commercial properties fall under certain categories which specify the type of business that can be operated there. The premises needs to hold the correct classification of usage as some listed buildings or buildings of historical importance can prove very costly in dilapidation's after lease negotiations. Some listed buildings will not permit exterior signage, for example certain town centres have uniformed signage forcing the charity to comply with uniformity light box etc. Most windows/doors/fascias would require permissions to paint or alter from either the land lord or local planning. Access, loading and unloading restrictions also need to be taken into consideration, therefore finding the correct retail premises is not an easy task. 

The unit will require sufficient space to retail the products the charity wishes to sell. Often furniture stores may need to be larger to ensure they have the desired space, double doors, DDA, accessibility, warehousing and preparation stock areas etc.

Building Structure must be checked to ensure the following; it is watertight, ceilings have no damp patches, or general water marks, or any mould or dripping water. Lofts, Cellars and flat roofs also need to be inspected as these areas often cause huge problems, finally all utilities should be checked and logged to ensure the location of the meters, and all meter readings should be taken, in or out of service.

The initial inspection of the premises must take into consideration all the factors of trades that need to be arranged to ensure the facilities meet the desired retail standards. A provisional shop layout/plan is advisable to ensure the unit is adaptable to meet the trading requirements. Internal/external photos to make up part of the initial photographic schedule is always a great idea, as after the lease expires the landlord could/would expect the unit to be restored to its original condition.