Bargain store booming in slow times
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| In a struggling economy, Goodwill Industries of the Valley reports a 5-percent increase in customers. (REBECCA BRATU/ Rockbridge Report) |
Rising food and heating prices have people struggling to cut back on spending. For many in Lexington and Rockbridge County that means less splurging on clothes and more bargain-hunting
Goodwill Industries in Rockbridge County is one place where they are finding them.
“I actually love shopping here,” said Rockbridge County resident Joan Pinnin. “They have stuff I couldn’t afford to buy anywhere else.”
Goodwill has seen a 5-percent increase in customers this year, said community relations director Kelly Sandridge.
The local Goodwill is part of Goodwill Industries of the Valley, one of 186 member organizations of Goodwill Industries International. The Valley branch serves 31 counties in Central and Southwest Virginia.
The 27 retail stores sell donated clothing and household items at low prices. Ten dollars can pay for an entire outfit at a Goodwill store. Shirts, blazers, sweaters, blouses, and skirts retail for $3.50 per item, compared to $9 for a sweater and $8 for a skirt on clearance at Wal-Mart. Dresses and jeans cost $4, and adult shoes are $2.50 a pair.
Pinnin is retired but occasionally works part-time cleaning. With the extra money she treats herself to a little shopping.
On this Goodwill run she has already picked a couple of sweaters, priced at $3.50 each.
With a smile, she holds up a sweater and then goes back to browsing the long rack of colorful fleece items, also priced at $3.50 apiece. With colder weather on the horizon, Pinnin says, the Goodwill store is the best place to buy winter clothes.
The search for winter clothes has also brought Debbie Zollman out shopping.
Zollman says that lately she’s been coming to Goodwill more often because she needs to save money in anticipation of sharply higher winter heating bills.
She also buys school clothes and toys for her daughter at Goodwill. Zollman says she prefers it because thrift clothing is cheaper and of a better quality than at big retail stores.
A woman browsing the children’s section said she shops at Goodwill for vintage clothing she can’t find anywhere else. Hugh Myers, who was helping his daughter buy a wooden table, said he shops at Goodwill because he supports Goodwill Industries’ mission to help the community.
And Pinnin sees one more positive.
“It’s also good for the environment because all this [clothing] isn’t going straight to the landfill,” she said.
Sandridge, the regional community relations director, said although clothes are selling fast, donations are lagging. The number of donors is about the same, Sandridge said, but tough economic times means a decrease in the amount of clothing donated.
But it doesn’t look like Goodwill will be losing its faithful customers anytime soon.
“I wouldn’t shop anywhere else for clothes,” Pinnan said.
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