Retail and Processing Updates
As we begin the transition to Harleysville, we start with a shout-out to the Clothing Workroom team members! Volunteers and Staff have been serving exclusively in Harleysville since Monday, July 6. They were the first to serve in a regular capacity in our new space. We are learning as we go, and we greatly appreciate everyone’s patience as we navigate the new environment and the occasional unexpected challenges.
Here are a few items of interest that we would like to share. They are not in any particular order, but are points that may be of interest or of a frequently asked nature.
Famous Labels – We’re going to try a new approach in Harleysville. We are not stocking Famous Labels at this time; instead, the clothing that was identified as Famous in Souderton and accompanied by a higher price will now be sold alongside regular-priced items, principally at the same price as the rest of women’s and men’s clothing. Why are we trying this? We know that the identification and pricing of Famous Labels has added a lot of complexity to the processing environment. By streamlining the processing, we hope to get through more clothing donations, get more on the floor, and turnover (sell) the product in a quicker timeframe. Volunteers serving in Quality Control and tagging will not have to be concerned if a piece is Famous or not. For our customers, who will now have to search through the racks, they have the opportunity to find a designer piece for $5.99. In turn, we hope they will tell their friends or share on their social media platforms, and draw more people into our new store. We will monitor these results for several months and determine if this is a permanent direction or we need to resume Famous Labels.
Outlet Clothing – Historically, we have sorted our Outlet clothing by gender and children. We are aware that our major competitors do not do this; all clothing sold by the pound is mixed, and the customer sorts through it. As the value of labor increases, be it volunteer or staff, we are experimenting with this approach. It creates efficiency in the Clothing First Sort process and extends to the Outlet floor. Further, it allows us to get through more clothing donations and increases what we can offer our customers in both the retail and outlet shops. We know that our customers respond to large selections. Again, we will monitor this decision in the upcoming months.
Retail Display of Men’s and Children’s Clothing – In the new store, we will display men’s and children’s clothing in the same manner that we have historically displayed women’s. This means that the clothing will be hung on the retail racks, sorted by size and color. For example, all the light colors will be grouped, all the blues and greens, and all the greys and blacks. This provides a more appealing retail palette, and customers tend to spend more time going through merchandise that is cohesively grouped.
Team Member Breakroom – This beautiful new room is for our volunteers and staff to enjoy a break or their lunches. We invite everyone to take their break and lunch in the space and enjoy a cup of coffee, a snack and your lunch. This is a great place to get to know others better and extend greetings and welcomes to people you may not yet know! We will be bringing the vending machines over soon, and we will be running them. Look for a refreshed lineup of snacks and drinks at lower price points. The coffee machines that you have enjoyed in the Souderton shops will be moving to Harleysville as soon as the salesman can get this accomplished. We have a refrigerator, and will have two more. We request that the refrigerators be used only to store your lunch or snack for consumption the same day. Unfortunately, we will no longer be able to accommodate overnight storage or longer-term storage of condiments, salad dressings, drinks, etc.
We appreciate your service to Care & Share and the greater community. If you have any questions about these items, please see your supervisor or Suzanne Kratz, Volunteer Manager. Thanks for your time with us!