Inside UK's BIGGEST charity shop in sprawling warehouse where you can buy designer goods for just £2.99 | The Sun

THIS is the UK's biggest charity shop, where designer clothes sell for a little as £2.99.

The Thrift, a vast, 12,000 square foot warehouse on an industrial estate in Cardiff, Wales, is packed full with vintage and designer clothing for a fraction of its original price.



Big name items can be scooped up for under a fiver and the shop has seen 1,000 customers a week since it opened in February.

Owner Gareth Natale built the brand after starting an online second hand clothing business called Deadstock from his bedsit in 2015.

He recalled starting with nothing but a suitcase of vintage clobber from local charity shops and "less than zero money".

After growing the store, he ran it from a new flat for three years, before moving into the top floor of the current site.

READ MORE ON CHARITY SHOPS

I’m a charity shop pro– best places and times to visit to get biggest bargains

I’m a savvy shopper & I raided a £1 charity shop…there was even a pair of Uggs

He later expanded to the ground floor too and sales are booming, especially as the cost of living crisis drives demand for cheap, good quality clothes.

He used the extra space to hold a 'kilo sale' – where customers pay for items based on weight rather than individually.

Gareth told WalesOnline: "I decided to put an event on – a kilo sale – expecting 50 people to come.

"Then, a whole lot more than 50 people came and I was like, ‘Ok, I think the people of Cardiff are ready for something interesting like this'.

Most read in Money

CHEMIST BLOW

Major pharmacy chain puts all 1,300 branches 'at risk' of closure in shake-up

CROSSED OFF

Greggs AXES popular treat from stores this Easter – and shoppers will be fuming

BARGAIN BUY

Asda shoppers rush to buy popular beauty gift set for just 2p instead of £10

SHUTTERED STORES

Big card shop to shut more stores this month after closures last year

"Slowly but surely, the word started to spread and eight years later, here we are."

Although many of his customers are students, he hopes that more people will begin to see the value of vintage and second hand products.

He explained: "The audience for The Thrift, I hope, will be just regular adults who haven’t considered shopping second hand before.

"That’s the goal – to just reduce all of the pinpoints that I possibly can to make it as similar to shopping in a regular department store as possible."

And the value certainly can't be faulted.

A Reebok fleece or GAP sweatshirt go for just £2.99, about a tenth of the normal price.

Likewise, Levi's jeans can cost upwards of £60 when new, but are just £24.99 at The Thrift.

The store is open from 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday for savvy shoppers to enjoy the stunning deals.




Source: Read Full Article

Previous post Holidays to Majorca are about to get more expensive in a major blow for Brits | The Sun
Next post Sen. Joe Manchin floats 'better program' for future Social Security, Medicare beneficiaries