Good news at the tills
British Heart Foundation (BHF) shops saw there busiest day ever as they reopened for the first time in nearly four months on Monday.
Despite some shops in Scotland and all in Northern Ireland remaining closed, it recorded more than £1 million in sales, with customers particularly keen to snap up furniture, as they refresh homes for Spring.
The charity wants to encourage people to keep dropping by with any good quality items they wish to donate, as every sale will help support its vital work.
The record-breaking day comes as the charity seeks to recover from the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The closure of its shops and cancellation of fundraising events has seen the charity’s net income cut in half. As a result, it’s had to cut its funding for new research from £100m to £50m in the last year, which has put life saving discoveries at risk.
Allison Swaine-Hughes, retail director at British Heart Foundation, said: ‘We are absolutely thrilled that in our first day of reopening, our shops made an incredible £1 million in sales, breaking the previous record for a day’s retail trading. We saw incredibly strong sales of furniture, as customers look to refresh their homes, and with Spring on the way, also look to update their wardrobes. Every item sold will help us continue to fund our life saving heart research.
“We want to say a huge thank you to our shops teams, who have worked tirelessly to get back up and running across England and Wales this week, we couldn’t have done it without you. We are also hugely grateful to local communities who hit the high street to help support us, by shopping and donating - we are so happy to have you back.
“The last year has been the most difficult in the BHF’s 60 year history and ongoing shop closures have had a huge impact on our income, but as we approach our milestone birthday, we are incredibly touched by the continued loyalty, dedication and support from our staff, volunteers and customers alike. Your ongoing support will enable us to save and improve the lives of the 7.6 million people living with heart and circulatory diseases across the UK.”
In line with government guidelines, shops in England and Wales have reopened with safety measures in place. These include social distancing on the shop floor, screens at till points and hand sanitiser available to customers.
BHF welcomes the public to keep donating and shopping as it seeks to recover the income needed to maintain the pace of progress in saving and improving the lives of those living with heart and circulatory diseases.
The shops are particularly keen to receive summer wear to sell throughout the coming season.
Those not yet ready to hit the high street can also post smaller items such as branded clothing, jewellery, vinyl records and cameras, using the charity’s freepost donation service.
