Amelia Cartwright: Hello and welcome back to Charity Shop Chat podcast with Charlotte Greenwood. Unfortunately, Mimi couldn't be here today ⁓ but I'm joined by two very special guests. ⁓ As always, this podcast powered by the Charity Retail Consultancy, supporting charities expert retail guidance, ⁓ strategy and training to help maximise income and impact. And don't forget charity learning in conjunction with a CRA. ⁓ with almost 50 online modules designed specifically for charity retailers. Now, I don't know about our listers, but charity retail feels slightly relentless at the moment, and I think everyone in the sector is feeling it. Rising costs, changing customer habits, volunteer recruitment challenges, somehow everyone's still expected to keep shop floor running perfectly every day. And I think one thing we hear all the time from people working in charity retail is that there is barely time to stop and think. which is why spaces where people can actually step back, learn from each other and have a proper conversation about the future of the sector matter more than ever. And that brings us nicely onto today's episode because we are talking all things Charity Retail Association Conference. one of the biggest events in the charity retail calendar and honestly one of the few times that the sector comes together in one place. And whether you work on the shop floor, in e-commerce, volunteering or leadership, it's become such an important opportunity to hear new ideas, challenge thinking and connect with people who genuinely understand the realities of charity retail. So joining us today are two people right at the heart of making all of that happen. Julia Edwards and Anna Paschliet from the Charity Retail Association. We're going to be chatting about what's happening in the sector right now. The conversations charities are really having behind the scenes. What themes are shaping this year's conference and why investing in learning and people matters more than ever. ⁓ Please welcome Julia and Anna from the CRA.

Anna Pashley: Hello.

Amelia Cartwright: Hi guys. ⁓ Welcome to the podcast. So.

Julia Edwards: Bye. I know.

Amelia Cartwright: For starters, could you just let everyone know kind of what you do for the CRA?

Julia Edwards: Hi everybody. ⁓ My name's Julia. ⁓ I'm the head of outreach at the CRA. ⁓ conference is one of my big remits. ⁓ I also lead volunteering and I on the ⁓ CRL partnership really closely with charity retail consultancy. So it's great to be

Amelia Cartwright: Thanks, Julia. Anna, what about you?

Anna Pashley: Hello, I'm Anna. I'm Corporate Partnerships Manager at the CRA. So I have the honour of working with lots of different service providers who have products or services that they want to share with our charity retail members and create connections where they can do that. One of which will be the absolutely enormous exhibition at this year's conference.

Amelia Cartwright: Excellent, good stuff. So let's get into it then. So what are you guys finding are the conversations that are dominating charity retail at the moment?

Julia Edwards: So I think for me, you can't ignore the impact that the war in Iran is having on charity retail. It's affecting all aspects of our members' business, you know, whether it's what's happening with goods that are not able to be sold on the shop floor, whether it's the impact on fuel prices or concerns around access to things like new goods that might be coming across from other parts of the world. ⁓ It really is infiltrating all parts of their business at a time when ⁓ economics were already tight. So... I think everyone's kind of thinking, is there a way that they can try and squeeze things a little bit further or they can delay maybe purchasing things for a little bit. So yeah, it's probably keeping people awake a little bit.

Amelia Cartwright: It is a big challenge, it? All those budgets are just getting tighter and tighter.

Julia Edwards: ⁓ Definitely.

Amelia Cartwright: And think I'm talking to some charities today, I think I was on the hospice steering group for the Midlands and they were talking about how they feel like their income keeps increasing but it just offsets the costs that are going up. So actually the contribution back to the charity kind of is remaining quite steady and level at the same rate.

Julia Edwards: Yeah, you know, and people might have seen that the Consumer Price Index went up last month. So, you know, that's obviously having an impact on the number of people that going out and spending. certainly our research showed that, you know, footfall was ⁓ pretty low last month. think it was 2.6 % down. you know, you're right, people having to work really hard just to try and maintain that kind of status quo, which is really challenging when perhaps there aren't. shoppers quite in the numbers that we would like to see at this time of year.

Amelia Cartwright: ⁓ So what themes kept coming up when you were starting to look at this year's conference program?

Julia Edwards: Well, I mean, as you know, ⁓ conference and the sector, it's all about the people. And that kind of came through really strongly from the conference planning group. We're really lucky that we had about 20 charity members who work with us to advise, you know, what they're seeing on the ground, how they're kind of trying to mitigate against things and the kind of successes and how they want that to be reflected in the conference program. And When it comes down to it, everything is about the people. So whether it's about the kind of new consumers where secondhand is a first choice, whether it's about the kind of staffing issues that people might be seeing in their shops and kind of how they're dealing with vacancy rates and kind of ⁓ retention not being as strong as it should be, whether it's around kind of modern volunteer recruitment, all of that boils down to people. And it's something we talk about all the time. that that's the big difference between charity retail and commercial retail. You know, it's all about the people. The people are at the heart of everything that we do and shape the whole experience. So hopefully you can see that in the kind of program that we've put together this year.

Amelia Cartwright: Absolutely and I think, you know, we can definitely take inspiration from what the commercial retailers are doing but we do have to tailor that to what our cause is, what our shops stand for and remember that we are a charity.

Julia Edwards: Yeah, you know, and without the kind of volunteers there, you know, being the lifeblood of our business, you know, a lot of our shops would really struggle. So I think that we really need to lean into that. we feel like we wanted that to be reflective in the theme for conference, you know, this kind of community powered retail, you know, it's not just about the staff, it's not just about the shoppers, it's about all people that have a touch point with the shops or with their e-commerce operation or some other aspect. with how they kind of have a touch point with charity retail and how we can kind of, you know, shape that and kind of reflect that in Newport this year.

Amelia Cartwright: And in your opinions, are there any areas you think the sector still isn't talking about ⁓ enough?

Julia Edwards: So I think there's a couple for me. I was chatting to our head of public affairs, Jonathan, the other day, and we were talking about the fact that, you know, our sector kind of carved out this space for itself around sustainability and reuse. And we did that really successfully when charity shops first opened. But if we don't work really hard to protect that space, that space is at risk of being squeezed out. You know, every day there are commercial retailers offering take back schemes. There are recyclers that want to do more with the kind of end of goods stuff. There are waste companies that want to get into this space. So I think something that we want to see in kind of the next 12 or 18 months is, you know, how are we making sure that we hold that space and we try and grow that space if possible and don't let it be eaten away or chipped away at by people that perhaps have got bigger budgets than us or... stronger brands that we need to hold true to what is unique about us and this space that we're the OGs in this space. We want to make sure that we keep in it.

Anna Pashley: you.

Amelia Cartwright: Absolutely, and I always say that charity retail is two things isn't it? It's just shopping with a conscience. So the first one is the charities cause all of the funding that goes back to the charities to support that and then the second thing is that sustainability that role in the circular economy that charity shops hold is incredibly important. So yeah, definitely we should be talking about that more and talking about the impact of it.

Julia Edwards: Yeah, I think sometimes we kind of take it for granted a little bit that because a lot of our items are donated to us that we feel like we're already doing a lot in that space, but there's so much more that we could be doing. yeah, I really want to see that kind of expanded and talked about more within the membership.

Anna Pashley: Thank There's also thinking about the social value of it all. The charity shop's the only place on the high street that generates such a great amount of social value into those communities. So we did a piece of research a few years ago now and it was shown that charity shops up and down the country all together are bringing over 75 billion pounds of social value to those communities. And that is through that feeling of helping the planet, of having a space where you're welcomed, of having somewhere, the feeling of just getting a great bargain. And I think that's a real uniqueness to our sector that we need to be shouting about more.

Amelia Cartwright: It's a staggering number, isn't it? then it got me thinking, I was like, don't actually know if you added up all the charity shops, how much we provide back to the charities? ⁓ Do we have that number anywhere?

Anna Pashley: In terms of value, think you could slice it by the ⁓ staff and volunteers, because the four cohorts that were interviewed were staff, volunteers, shoppers and donators. So there probably is a stat there staff wellbeing.

Amelia Cartwright: So moving back to the conference then, why do you think events like the conference matter in a sector where everyone is so busy firefighting day to day?

Julia Edwards: I think our delegates and our members tell us that it really matters because it gives them an opportunity to ⁓ pause and take stock of what's going on. For a lot of our members that are small and medium sized, they're perhaps the only person in their role. They don't have the luxury of having a huge team around them that they can bounce ideas off, that they can collaborate with. This is an opportunity to be in the room when loads of other people are actually doing the same job as you or working in the same part of the third sector as you. And I think there's something to be gained from hearing those stories that other members and outside consultants are sharing with our sector to kind of understand actually, yeah, there is, we have power. We have power when we all come together as a sector, we can celebrate the amazing things that we've done, but there's so much learning that we can do from each other and you know, certainly in all the jobs I've had, I've never worked in a sector that is so open and willing to talk about their successes and their failures so willingly to what some might perceive to be their competitors with a very small C because it's completely not like that in our sector. for me, that's one of the things that I love that you go into a session and you know, it's a hospice or a national chain that is kind of... talking about a lot of the successes and challenges that they're finding and everyone else is thinking, wow, I can genuinely learn from this and take that back kind of in a strategic or operational way. So yeah, I think it's great.

Amelia Cartwright: Absolutely, and that's the thing isn't it, when you work for a charity you have to wear so many hats you can't afford to guard your knowledge because if you can get something from another charity that saves you time and then you can reciprocate that it just saves a lot of time that you just don't have do you?

Julia Edwards: And that hat wearing thing is really overwhelming sometimes, you know, the fact that if you're a head of retail or even an area manager, you know, you might have an area manager, but you're also responsible for volunteer recruitment, or you're also trying to drive your e-commerce strategy at the same time. And it's great that you go to conference and hang on, there's another person that's also wearing similar hats to you. you know, there's that kind of... camaraderie, I suppose, of kind of meeting other people that are in a similar position to you, but hopefully conference helps you to be energised. And one of the things everybody says when they come to conferences, it reminds us that we need to be really proud of the work that we do and we need to remember to shout about it. So whether you go back and you become reinvigorated to kind of promote what your retail chain is doing.

Anna Pashley: Hmm.

Julia Edwards: or whether you're invigorated to just talk about the whole sector and the amazing work that the whole sector does. I think that pause moment out of the kind of Monday to Sunday even work that you do as a head of retail or any role within charity retail, that pause moment allows you to realise, hang on a second, this sector really is amazing and I have a role in championing and shouting about that. So hopefully people come away with that as well.

Amelia Cartwright: Yeah, and think there's, ⁓ retailers got the longest job titles. You you hear things like head of retail and marketing and finance and digital transformation. ⁓ and the cafe that we've suddenly taken on from whoever had it before. It's just, it goes on and on, doesn't it?

Anna Pashley: Hmm.

Julia Edwards: Yeah, sometimes it is never ending. you know, we see those people and we have a space for those people. We want them to kind of feel like they can come and maybe just take a couple of those hats off for a day, maybe ideally two days and, you know, take it all in.

Anna Pashley: Thank

Amelia Cartwright: stories of ideas, partnerships or changes that happen after the conference because of those conversations that they've had.

Julia Edwards: Yeah, so interestingly, ⁓ separately, CRA have special interest groups and we have a property special interest group that's co-chaired by somebody at MIND and somebody at Oxfam who are experts in the kind of estates and property field. And we were really lucky that they came and gave a presentation on kind of estate management at conference last year. And the queue of people to want to talk to them and get their contact details and meet up with them for coffee or go and meet them at their office was basically out the door. And when I spoke to them like two weeks ago, they were saying, actually, all of them, they went and they met with them, or they went to visit them and gave them some advice about their estates. And that doesn't happen just from having a telephone call. That happens because those people were in the room. They loved the presentation. and the two speakers were generous enough to want to genuinely keep following up those conversations and continue sharing their knowledge and help them in any way they can. And I think a lot of the delegates from that particular session will have followed up and met these ladies for coffee. And hopefully that has had a big impact on how they're negotiating their contract or a clause that's come up that they're not quite sure what to do with because both of these ladies have the luxury of being experts because they work for national charities, whereas for some of our members they don't have a dedicated property support team, it's just another role within somebody else's job. yeah, that was a live example from two weeks ago.

Amelia Cartwright: Anna, from kind of your corporate members point of view, do you find that exhibitors that go to the conference are then able to really talk to the attendees about the challenges they're facing and then they're able to kind of relook at their, whatever service they're providing and try and answer some of those challenges?

Anna Pashley: Absolutely, the exhibition, it's always so lively and buzzing and ⁓ full of people. You can see ideas. ⁓ coming into fruition in real time. So we've got the biggest exhibition we've ever had this year, and that's including some of our long-standing corporate members that have been with us for 20 years who come along to conference to be able to check in with their long-standing clients, people that are their friends, because after working with somebody for that length of time, of course, you're going to be pals as well. And so... carry on doing that refining of what the services that they're offering that's keeping those different clients with them over such long periods. And then every year we have a new cohort of people coming into the sector, recognizing that actually charity retail is where it's going on. And these are the people they need to be talking to to do that innovative stuff with that testing, that piloting, that shaping of what is the new product and service. that's going to really make an impact here. So, you in the last couple of years, we've seen a surge in different organizations enhancing or supporting their products with new AI offers. That's proving really popular. But a big part of that is they're coming to conference at the start of that journey to have those conversations to work out what exactly that offer is. And we see them in the follow up. They start to have They start to have reference groups from the contacts they've made at conference. So people are designing the service for them in real time in that sort of collaborative space. So yeah, it's really exciting always to see what comes out the other side of the event.

Amelia Cartwright: Yeah, I think you've made a good point there. Those who are starting out on their journey, whether it's opening their very first charity shop or trying to scale up ⁓ e-commerce, conference is a great place to be because it sets you up for success, doesn't it? It gives you the tips of how to start your journey. It tells you the pitfalls that you might face so that you can try and mitigate it. it just basically gives you a better start to going on that journey.

Anna Pashley: And it's organizations as well that are just breaking into the charity retail sector. And they're there to really just absorb what it is that people need, what will work, what is not worth their time. Because we know that everyone's time poor and stretching that resource to as far as they can. So our exhibitors are there to just really take the pulse of what's going on in the sector.

Amelia Cartwright: And for someone who's never attended conference before, is it really for everyone? What kind of people attend? there genuinely something everyone from shop floor teams all the way through to kind of ⁓ directors or CEOs? ⁓

Julia Edwards: Yeah, so it's a really varied ⁓ list of job roles when I kind of go through the delegate list every year at conference. you know, there are some kind of key stats. kind of 40 or 50 percent of people that come to conference on the delegate side are kind of ahead of retail or at a kind of head of department level, or they're at a kind of management level. So they might be, you know, the volunteer manager, for example. But then we're really lucky that about 17 % are kind of C-suite or director level. So really the most senior people within the charity. And then aside from those kind of big cohort groups, I mean, there is literally any and every role. You sometimes we have volunteers because they're so small, they're just starting out. We might have volunteer trustees that come along to find out and represent the charity. Lots of shop managers, area managers and regional managers, of course. But then also, you know, a warehouse manager or the logistics coordinator or the retail marketing coordinator or the retail team lead, you know, like the roles are endless and we try to make sure that all of those roles are catered for at conference when we put the program together that, you know, there's not just sessions for people, there's not just sessions that think strategically that when you come, there's something for everyone. And you can see that in this new networking zone that we've got. And we've got these networking slots. So we've got a networking slot specifically for shop managers. We've got a networking time slot specifically for heads of retail. We've got a networking slot for C-suite and director level people. So hopefully everybody can come and think, okay, this is content that really is honestly being kind of curated for my role. And then, you know, they kind of book appropriately.

Amelia Cartwright: That's a really great addition because peer support is really important when you're in charity retail just to be able to go to someone else. We've got this challenge at our charity, are you finding the same thing or is this just a problem in isolation for us? So yeah, great.

Julia Edwards: Yeah, and you know, we know that sometimes conference can be really overwhelming, you know, when you put 350, 400 people all in the same space at the same time, you know, like there are loads of people you could potentially talk to, but you know, if you've come on your own or you're part of a really small team, we get that, that, you know, it is quite a big deal. And so we wanted to try and incorporate more networking specifically into conference. So by having these kind of dedicated time slots, and then also just having a specific networking zone in the exhibition. We're hoping that people might naturally gravitate there if they're a kind of solo attendee that we want that experience to be collaborative, but we know not everybody just wants to go and start saying, hi, I'm Julia from the CRA, who are you? So trying to kind of give a little bit more structure to it. We hope, fingers crossed, it's the first year we'll be doing it. We'll kind of break down some of those barriers that people find. you know, prevent them from making more contacts because, you know, ideally you go to conference and you come away with a list of loads of people that you think, I really want to follow up with that person because, you know, I want to talk to them about the visual merchandising in their shops, or I really want to follow up with this person about the e-commerce strategy they're developing. And they kind of come up with a list of people that, you know, in the coming weeks and months, they will make stronger connections with.

Anna Pashley: Okay.

Amelia Cartwright: I've definitely done that. I've come away with lists of people of like, yes, I'll talk to them. So, yeah, I completely agree. So without giving us the kind of the full brochure version, what are you personally most excited about this year for conference?

Julia Edwards: Okay, so for me, there's two sessions on the agenda that I think, you know, are for different reasons, I think I'm really looking forward to. So first, people might have seen there's a fireside chat with the kind of senior team at Cancer Research UK. I think, you know, people probably haven't escaped the news that they announced in the autumn about quite a change in their retail chain and closing quite a lot of their shops. And I think that kind of naturally created a lot of anxiety within the sector and uncertainty within the rest of the membership. So we were really pleased when they actually approached us and said, we would really love to come and have a slot at conference. We want to be collaborative with the sector. We want to explain our rationale and the kind of new direction that we're going from a retail strategy perspective. you know, we've been really lucky. Julie Byard, the director of trading there has spoken at conference numerous times and she's a fabulous speaker. So I think that's going to be a really fascinating session that will kind of open a lot of people's eyes as to why they've chosen to go into that direction, hopefully to put some people at ease and for them to kind of be so generous with their time. I think the second session, ⁓ is that we've got a session on structural organization design.

Anna Pashley: Thank

Julia Edwards: which is just so different for our sector. The conference planning group, we're coming up with ideas that we just haven't thought about before in this sector. And we're really lucky we've got a consultancy firm that specialize in this area that are gonna come and deliver this content. this is content, I mean, this is my 11th conference that I've organized at CRA. We've never had a session on this theme at conference before. And, you know, for some people it's not gonna be. at a level that they're ready to think about, but this is really top level strategic thinking on the structure of your business, how you organise your team, how you kind of think about organisational design in loads of different ways. And so for that reason, I'm just really intrigued to see how it lands this year, because perhaps for people that are kind of right at the cutting edge of charity retail strategy, I think this is going to be a really insightful session for them.

Amelia Cartwright: Yeah, that does sound interesting.

Julia Edwards: Anna, what do you think?

Anna Pashley: I'm going to say that the thing I'm most excited about is the exhibition this year. That's where I will be located and my favorite bit is just seeing what all the different exhibitors bring to that space. They know the conferences. It's a conference, but it's also a celebration of the sector. And it's something that goes to a lot of, you know, retail related conferences. I can honestly say ours is the most colourful and full of excitement and of course fantastic outfits from their charity retailers. But our exhibitors really recognise that and I've already heard that this year there's going to be some really interesting builds going on, there's going to be some merch and I think the inclusion of the networking zone is also going to really liven it up and see how people are using that space. It's something that I think we were asked for. So we've responded. So now I'm going to be keeping an eye on that to see what kind of networking and collections are happening in the exhibition as part of the conference, not just in those breakout periods. Looking at the programme, I'm really interested in resilience and resilient communities. And I think it's great to see that we're looking at What does personal resilience look like? We, every day, know, we're seeing the news, we're hearing about different awful things going on around the world. That has an impact on us, especially if you're in a role where you're customer facing. So I think that we're looking at ways in which people can build their personal resilience is always really great. But also the sessions whereby really reflecting on our community. and what is the community that we're operating in and how do we reflect that in our shops and in our staff and in our volunteers. So I'll be trying to get across all of those because I think it's such an important thing more than ever to be thinking about who are the people that make up not just our operation but in the wider context of who we're coming across every day in our shops.

Amelia Cartwright: Yeah, I like the one about resilience because I think there's quite a common misconception, particularly in our sector, that resilience is about ⁓ taking on more and remaining silent if you're struggling. And I actually think resilience is much more about acknowledging the fact that you've got a hell of a lot on your plate and being able to say, OK, this is what I've got going on. This is the kind of support I need. And then just cracking on with it. So I think that will probably be a good session to listen to.

Anna Pashley: Mm-hmm.

Amelia Cartwright: ⁓ The program balances practical retail ⁓ with leadership and inspiration. Was that intentional and is that important do you think?

Julia Edwards: So I think that, ⁓ you know, we're in a sector where our members don't necessarily get opportunities to go to lots of conferences or experience lots of external learning and development that they might be lucky to have something internal or a system or program that they can engage with, but external things that they can go to tend to be more limited and conferences is one of the key dates in the diary for people. So I think conference then has to work hard to kind of cover dual purposes that Not only do we have a responsibility to the individual to upskill them personally, and whether that's through sessions like the resilience session that Anna's mentioned, or the fact we've now got ⁓ two menopause sessions on the programme this year, which, I mean, five years ago, we just wouldn't have been having that conversation. So, you know, something that is personal to the individual. But also we know that delegates are there representing their charities and they need to think about it. from a strategic perspective or from an operational perspective. So hopefully in the programme, you can see that we're trying to cover both of those side of things. And then it's up to the individual to think, actually, yeah, you know, the vast majority of people in our sector are women. So menopause is going to affect all of them, or you're going to be line managing women, or you're a woman that's going to be line managing other women. You know, so whether you want to go to the menopause and you session, which is the kind of individual session about what you might be experiencing, how you can kind of cope and the strategies you might want to employ, or whether you're interested in going to the menopause session from a strategic perspective and how does your business adopt a menopause policy or how do you kind of build your workload and your staff team around changes that might be occurring to women of a certain age. ⁓ Even in that, that's a great example of where we're trying to offer the personalized angle for the individual.

Anna Pashley: Mm.

Julia Edwards: but also we're doing a kind of dovetailing with a session that's more strategic that then anybody can go to.

Amelia Cartwright: I that. think that is really important, isn't it? Because it's a conversation that is starting, thankfully, to be talked about a little bit more about the individual impact that Menopause has. But how do you support those going through it as a line manager? That is really important. ⁓ So this is probably to be my fifth or sixth year going to the conference and my first year going with the consultancy for those who have been for several years ⁓ and they're looking at their budgets thinking ⁓ I'm not sure we can afford it, why do think you should keep coming back to the conference year on year? What's going be new in ⁓ the programme and what's you know, if I'm a delegate going for the sixth year, am I going to go round the exhibition again? What's the new exhibitors and suppliers that are going to be there that would attract someone like me?

Julia Edwards: I think that's a great question, Charlotte. My answer would be that I think charity members can't afford to not send their staff. There is so much data around the kind of ROI and engagement of staff as to why they really need to be having opportunities like this. You know, so there was some research in 2024 that showed that organisations who prioritise learning and development are more likely to have better fundraising programs, of which retail was one of them, and they're going to have happier staff. there was another piece of research that 70 % of employees are more likely to stay with their employer if they are offered structured benefits and career development opportunities. And that was some third sector research. And I definitely consider conference to be a career development opportunity. So. My kind of counterpoint would be for some of the charities that are sitting on the fence thinking, yeah, we've sent our head of retail for three or four years in a row. Maybe we can kind of pause this year. I would say actually when you look at the kind of evidence and data, there's so much that says, you know, to kind of keep your staff engaged and interested and, you know, kind of reduce absenteeism and stuff, you need to be offering them learning and development opportunities. And this is kind of the day in the calendar with which you can do that.

Anna Pashley: so I've been managing exhibitions since 2022, and I can say that no two exhibitions are the same at the CRA conference. We constantly have new organizations that have never exhibited before join us. So I think this year, as I said, it's our biggest exhibition yet. About 20 % of those are new faces on the scene with new offers that they've realized actually charity retailers need to know about this. So that could be things like expanding on what the new goods offer is and how that can benefit your existing setup and how you can integrate that into your space. Obviously technology is booming. So, so many different offers around how they can integrate AI in various different aspects of the organization. We've got of course, are familiar faces, but they're not standing still. They're coming because they're showcasing their new aspects of what they can provide to existing clients. And if new ones want to come on board too, I'm sure they'd be very happy to talk to them.

Julia Edwards: it would be remiss of me not to say that conference is at a new venue this year and that always changes the You know, we had four fantastic years at Harrogate Convention Centre, but we felt it was time to breathe a bit of new life into conference and move to a different space. ⁓ So we're going to be at ICC Wales in Newport. It'll be our first year. So. ⁓ That always changes the dynamic of conference. So I think for people that maybe have experienced conference at Harrogate, I would say to them, come along to a new venue and see what that does to change conference. We've also listened to the feedback and there's now more focus sessions than ever. So we've talked a lot about, you know, the importance of learning and development, the importance of having strategy and operational things on the programme. And this year you get to go to six focus sessions when normally you only get to go to four. you're kind of getting even more value from your conference ticket. So I think for people that are regulars, hopefully they'll think, yeah, I really want to see how conference feels and performs in a new space. And the fact they're going to get more opportunities for learning and development, hopefully will be what kind of seals the deal for them.

Amelia Cartwright: to the new venue and seeing what it's like. ⁓ But the exhibition definitely one of my favourite parts ⁓ of Conference. think suppliers that I've introduced to charities ⁓ in my own those that I work for through the consultancy, a lot of them is because we've talked to them at Conference. We've ⁓ really understood the that they provide. We've talked to charities who've used them ⁓ and recommend them speak highly of them. So that's a great place to kind of get all of that information, a bit like Toys R Us. ⁓ all under one roof, in one big go. I'm looking for a, I don't know, a recycling merchant, and you just go and hit all the stands, and you've got all the information within kind of half an hour. So yeah, a really great place to attend.

Anna Pashley: Something to consider is a lot of our exhibitors come to conference with unique offers for conference delegates. So when you're walking around the exhibition, as you said, Charlotte, you might come across some sort of deal that you would not get anywhere else because they just put it on for those conference delegates. So it's definitely worth, as you said, going around and talking to everyone. and seeing what they've brought to entice you.

Amelia Cartwright: And if you've never been before, make sure you bring a big bag to take all those notebooks and pens and travel cups and all the other things that suppliers seem to offer on stands. But the Charity Retail Consultancy, think, wins hand down, wins, wins hands down, wins with their fans that they had at Harrogate one year when it was really, really hot outside and everyone was boiling and we had the lovely paper fans. OK, so do smaller charities sometimes assume that kind of big events like this aren't for them because they're so small?

Julia Edwards: I I hope not. We try really hard to engage with our smaller members. You know, we have a bursary scheme at conference. So, you know, if you've got five shops or less, then you can come along to conference and apply for a reduced rate ticket. So we want it to feel like, you know, this isn't just something that's open for nationals or larger chains. And certainly CRA membership more broadly, the vast majority of our members have got less than 10 shops. know, so whilst... lots of nationals are the ones that you perhaps think about first and foremost. Actually, the lifeblood of charity retail are the hyper local charities that are running six or seven shops within their county or for the particular cause that they're really passionate about. there are specific sessions on the programme that you'll see after them. So there's a session, I think the title is something like How Small Retail Chains Thrive. So, you we know that, you know, they don't necessarily have the huge marketing budget. They don't necessarily have access to a huge central team, but their successes are really important. And so we have carved out dedicated space for our smallest members as well.

Amelia Cartwright: Okay, so we're gonna move on to our quick fire round now. So I'm gonna ask some questions and I want you to give me kind of the first thing that comes into your mind. Do you want to decide now kind of who answers first if it's a quick fire round? Okay, I'd go first because I'm putting in my answers if I don't think of anything else.

Anna Pashley: Julia.

Julia Edwards: Yeah.

Anna Pashley: Well, no, then I can go. agree with Julia. So it's fine.

Amelia Cartwright: Strategy, I love that. Okay, so first question then, ⁓ one charity retail buzzword that you're hearing too much.

Julia Edwards: Fine. Fine. ⁓ it's got to be conscious shopping everybody, whether it's influencers or, you know, the sector we're talking about, you know, we should be shopping more consciously and thinking about our purchases and not just kind of impulse buying. So yeah, conscious shopping. can't seem to escape that one.

Anna Pashley: I agree with you, dear. Yeah, I think, you know, I go to a lot of retail conferences and I hear a lot of ⁓ non-charity retailers upon the stage talking about their sustainability journey. And I think as Julia said earlier, we're the OGs. it's, I think we need to really take the reins of how we're talking about it and how we're framing it.

Amelia Cartwright: One session topic every charity retailer should care about right now.

Julia Edwards: It's got to be the creative solution session. It's a repeat of a session that we did last year that was super popular and everybody basically goes up and does their elevator pitch for, one thing they're doing that's really innovating or moving the needle. And for about six months, every member I spoke to said that was the session I took the most away from, that I made the most notes in, that I went and talked to colleagues about the most. So we're doing a kind of one year on, you know, repeat to see maybe how some people are faring and hear from some new voices.

Anna Pashley: I would say the networking zone in the exhibition. We've created that upon request. There's nothing worse there than walking somewhere, not knowing who you need to talk to, having to go through some awful icebreaker just to work out if you're in the right group. We've done it for you. You can ⁓ walk into that space and know that everyone else there has got a similar understanding of the sector and they are the person that you should be networking with.

Amelia Cartwright: biggest trend you think we'll see more of over the next year.

Julia Edwards: It's got to be superstores for me. Everybody is talking about opening a superstore, wanting to open a superstore, not being able to find a suitable location to put their superstore in. And I think that, you know, given CRUK's announcement and their plans, I think it's going to be a trend that's only going to continue.

Anna Pashley: think I said before, we've never had more tech organizations coming to exhibition this year. I think it's just expanding at an unprecedented rate. Everyone's looking at how best they can integrate new systems to take pressure off, to make things pop online, to create new avenues for them to make sales. So I just think that's going to continue exponential.

Amelia Cartwright: I don't think AI is going away, so I think now everyone's going to be thinking, how can we use AI ethically? Because some charities have got some really strong stances on their kind of the cause and the values that they have and how AI kind of plays into that is going to be very, very interesting. One thing first-time delegates should definitely do.

Anna Pashley: Mm-hmm.

Julia Edwards: mean, try and come away with five new contacts, you know, like that's the beauty of conference. There's so many people you can meet. I don't think business cards are a thing. That's kind of very 1990s and maybe you do that in the networking zone. But, you know, if I give people one piece of advice, it's like, if you're coming for the first time, be prepared to want to kind of exchange contact details with people because that's how you're going to get the most out of your experience. mean, ⁓ love a business card, but I'm conscious that some people will think, what the heck is that? That's so, yeah, that's so old fashioned.

Anna Pashley: say if it's your first time, especially if you're coming on your own, make sure that you are booked in to go to the gala dinner on the first night. It is so much fun. We have a fantastic drinks reception in the exhibition before the dinner. You get to relax, you get to mingle, you get to celebrate the sector and you'll be on a table with your sector colleagues, all of whom are so friendly and fun. It's the best night ever, so make sure that you're signing up.

Amelia Cartwright: ⁓ I think that was a great conversation and I think hopefully people listening will understand what the conference is about ⁓ if they've never attended before, you know, they've got some reasons now why they should try and get that ⁓ through. ⁓ if you have attended before, then the new things that are coming up. ⁓ I think what always stands out after these conversations is just how much charity retail is evolving. ⁓ not just about running shops anymore. ⁓ charity retailers are now navigating e-commerce growth, AI tools, changing customer expectations, sustainability conversations, the list literally goes on and on and on. And I think that's why continuous learning matters so much because nobody can realistically stay on top of all of that alone. And the charities that tend to thrive are usually the ones building learning cultures. they're encouraging curiosity, supporting managers, investing in teams, ⁓ and staying open to new instead of just sticking with ⁓ how things have always been ⁓ And honestly, one of the things about the sector is how willing people are to share ideas and support each other, which we mentioned before. ⁓ And we will be there the conference on the Charity Retail Consultancy stand. So please do come and say hello, ⁓ because we genuinely love meeting of the podcast in real life. ⁓ And Kat from the consultancy and I are also delivering two focus sessions around visual merchandising and equity, diversity and inclusion with lots of practical takeaways for delegates. So whether people want strategy chats, practical retail ideas, professional sector conversations, or just to connect with other people who get charity retail, definitely come and find us and hear particularly about charity retail learning. which you can get for as little as £265 for access to almost 50 training modules. So it's time for our charity shop shout outs. So Julia, Anna, who would you like to give a shout out to? Any charity shops doing amazing things, thrifting influencers, suppliers that you'd like to mention?

Julia Edwards: Yeah, so I went to an area manager meeting recently over in Hull and it was actually in the upstairs of the market, which is ⁓ a charity shop in Dove House Hospice. So yeah, I of course went and had a browse and bought more than I should have done in the shop afterwards. It's a really unique space. You know, there was loads of toys and I've got two young kids. was a craft section. ⁓ And it's got that kind of really ⁓ industrial vibe and they've really lent into the kind of sustainability credentials. So I think that's one of my favorite shops in the last few months.

Anna Pashley: Okay. So I'm based at North, I'm in Sheffield and there's one charity shop that every time go when I leave, I feel cooler than when I went in. It's the St Luke's outlets at the bottom of the mall, if anyone's familiar with Sheffield. It's ⁓ had a rebrand a few years ago. It's all about sustainability. The interior is absolutely beautiful. It's got a big student following. And every time I go in there, I end up spending far more money than I should on my ever expanding wardrobe. has a little cry and says, please, we can't simply fit any more clothes in here. But I'll go again. I'll probably go tomorrow, because it's just excellent.

Amelia Cartwright: think that's an occupational hazard, isn't it? Because we have to go and visit charity shops, we just end up buying more stuff.

Anna Pashley: I'm really good at the buying bit, I need to work on the donating.

Julia Edwards: Hehehehehe

Amelia Cartwright: Agreed.

Anna Pashley: I could be doubling my social value, but yeah, there we are.

Amelia Cartwright: Yeah, I know. It's just finding the time to just go through it all. I just keep just stuffing it back in and I'm like, no, that's a future me problem. I will sort that drawer out eventually. So thank you so much, guys, for joining us today. We hope we've encouraged lots of people to join us at the conference this year. And to our listeners, if you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast, leave us a review and share it with someone who loves charity shops just as much as we do. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. On Instagram it's at Charity Shop Chat and on the rest of the channels it's at the Charity Retail Consultancy. And make sure you're following the CRA as well. Where can we find you on ⁓ socials?

Anna Pashley: So you can follow the Charity Retail Association on Instagram at the handle, we love charity shops. On Facebook, we are Charity Retail Association. On LinkedIn, we are Charity Retail Association. You can see a theme occurring here. We are also individually, I'm Anna Pashty on LinkedIn, Julia is Julia Edwards on LinkedIn. So you can follow us and see what we're up to and out and about

Amelia Cartwright: Well that is all from us today but as always charity shops are full of stories that deserve to be told and we love sharing them with you. So into our next episode goodbye!

Julia Edwards: Bye.

Anna Pashley: Bye.