Staff and volunteers at Rowcroft are celebrating the first birthday of the hospice’s Distribution Centre, which since opening has contributed to a £100,000 rise in sales income for the hospice.
The centre, located on the Brunel Industrial Estate, Newton Abbot, centrally sorts and distributes all donations to Rowcroft shops to ensure each of the hospice’s 12 shops is stocked with items suitable for its customer base.
Caroline Wannell, Associate Director of Retail at the hospice, explained: “Over the last 12 months we have carefully planned a number of retail developments that have contributed to the rise in our sales income, and the opening of our Distribution Centre has further strengthened this.
“We now have a greater awareness of the stock that’s being donated and are able to distribute it appropriately and fairly amongst our shops.”
Caroline added: “Our shop in Torquay High Street, for example, was previously struggling for stock because limited parking deterred people from stopping to donate goods.
“Since Distribution Centre opened, there has been a brilliant increase in sales performance, as it is now entirely stocked with materials from the centre.”
As well as giving Rowcroft’s 12 shops a platform for growth, the Centre has allowed the hospice to develop its e-commerce offering, quadrupling the income generated by its eBay shop.
The Centre has also enabled more income to be generated from scrapping materials that the hospice is unable to sell.
Caroline said: “We are delighted that the Distribution Centre has proved such a success for the hospice, helping to generate increased income to support patients and families across South Devon to get the most out of every day.”
Attached to the Distribution Centre is Rowcroft’s second Furniture Outlet, which has also helped to generate additional income for the hospice over the previous year.
The shop is stocked with furniture, white goods, electricals, bric-a-brac, shabby chic furniture and also has a donation drop off point.
For more information on Rowcroft’s 12 shops, visit www.rowcrofthospice.org.uk/shops.
