In another worrying sign for Australia’s beleaguered retail industry, even not-for-profit players seem to be struggling.
Last week Oxfam announced it would shutter its Australian retail arm, closing all 13 shops and its e-commerce site.
The non-profit, part of the global Oxfam confederation, has a 50-plus-year retail background in Australia, beginning with Community Aid Abroad shops, later rebranded to Oxfam.
McKimmie cited declining earnings in wholesale and retail channels, including online earnings growth as the economic variables behind the shutdown.
It is a story all too familiar in Australian retail; a multitude of brands with much less noble goals have met similar fates in recent decades.
There’s been a particular pain of late for charitable organisations; however, with NSW-based The Smith Family currently undertaking a strategic review of the retail operation.
As part of this review, the organisation is”analysing the ideal long-term ownership structure” of the company.
Non-profit retailers are responding by bringing in more experienced customer support staff and revamping their retail operations but have been stifled by the increase of fast fashion.
The feeling seems to be in the non-profit retail industry that you can not re-sell fast fashion.
