Charity Super.Mkt to open at Oracle after Brent Cross success

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Mar 21, 2023

No wonder Charity Super.Mkt is back with a new pop-up store. It had raised over £300,000 for UK charities at Brent Cross, London, last month (and reinvented charity shopping in the process, it says). And it’s now moving outside the capital and onto a second Hammerson-operated mall, The Oracle in Reading, from 24-30 March.

Why Reading? Its 23,000 strong student population makes it the perfect location for the charity’s first pop-up outside of London and an “opportunity to provide a destination for the town’s burgeoning ethically conscious shoppers to contribute to the ‘green circular economy’ and support the environmental benefits that second-hand shopping brings”. 

Charity Super.Mkt said its ‘department store for secondhand style’ at Brent Cross exceeded expectations with over 40,000 secondhand items sold in 41 days of trading, and over 26,000 customers flocking to snap up pre-loved clothes and accessories from household names including Zara , Ralph Lauren and Burberry.

Co-founder Wayne Hemingway said: “Now we are going to prove that the concept works nationwide. Next stop is The Oracle, Reading, where we have gathered a revolving cohort of national, local and regional charities who have all been squirrelling away great secondhand pieces.”

Fellow co-founder Maria Chenoweth added: “The success of our first pop-up at Brent Cross has shown overwhelming support for the concept and for charity retail, and we’re excited to take Charity Super.Mkt outside of London to its new home at the Oracle in Reading.”

Andy Briggs, General Manager at The Oracle also said: “We hope as many visitors as possible not only shop in the new pop-up but also take a rummage through their own wardrobes to donate their pre-loved items to boost the charities even further.”

Contributing charities include Age UK, Havens Hospice, Marie Curie, Blue Cross, Cats Protection, Daisy’s Dream, DEBRA, Helen & Douglas House, Shaw Trust, Shelter, Smart Works, Sue Ryder, Thames Hospice and TRAID. The new pop-up will be staffed partially by volunteers.