Free Daily Podcast Summary
The Charity Shop Chat: Daily Summaries Delivered
by The Charity Retail Consultancy
The Charity Shop Chat is a podcast for anyone who works, volunteers with or simply loves charity retail. Hosted by Charlotte Greenwood and Mimi Cartwright, the show brings together honest conversations with the people who make the sector what it is - people working everyday support our high streets and create real lasting change in the non profit sector. Each episode spotlights stories and teaching from behind the counter; the challenges, the moments that make it all worthwhile, and the realities of working in charity retail today.
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- Today36 min
Kat McClellan: How to Visual Merchandise a Christmas Charity Shop
Christmas is the busiest and most profitable time of the year for charity retail, but unlike commercial retailers, we can’t order in a perfectly coordinated festive range. We work with whatever comes through the donation door. So how do you create Christmas magic from that?Visual merchandising expert Kat McClellan returns to help get your shop Christmas-ready, with tips from the Charity Shop Chat listeners too. Kat shares how to plan a “Christmas shop within the shop” that flexes with your stock, create eye catching windows on a tiny budget, and change them up through the season. Want more guidence? Charity Retail Learning is running a free Christmas visual merchandising webinar for subscribers on Tuesday 17th November. Find out more at charityretaillearning.com.We’d love to see your Christmas displays. Tag us on Instagram at @charityshopchat and @thecharityretailconsultancy.
- 1 weeks ago50 min
Tansy Hoskins: Author of Charity Shop World
In this episode of Charity Shop Chat, Charlotte Greenwood and Mimi Cartwright are joined by author and journalist Tansy Hoskins to look at the world of charity shops from a different perspective.Tansy’s new book, Charity Shop World, explores charity shops, consumption, community and what really happens to the things we no longer want. She spent four years researching it, including 16 months sorting donations on the shop floor of a London charity shop.Tansy’s book Charity Shop World is out now. You can find her at tansyhoskins.org and on social media as Tansy Hoskins.
- 4 weeks ago42 min
Rebel Rags: The M&S Picky Bits of the High Street and the Pre-Loved Fashion Movement
Secondhand used to be whispered about. Now it’s worn proudly, shared loudly and styled boldly. In this episode, Charlotte and Mimi are joined by Sara, the vintage-hunting, thrift-hauling force of nature behind Rebel Rags Vintage, to talk about how pre-loved fashion has become about identity, confidence and community.Sarah shares how a love of getting dressed turned into a following, why charity shops are the “picky bits” buffet of the high street, and how affordable experimenting helps people rediscover their style. We also dig into what charity retail can learn from the influencer world, plus a rapid fire round, what everyone is manifesting to find in a charity shop!
- Sep 29, 202649 min
Billy Farrell: The Loyalty Scheme and How to Build a Future Focused Charity Retail
In this episode of The Charity Shop Chat, Mimi and Charlotte are joined by Billy Farrell, Director of Income Generation at Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, for a conversation about what happens when charity retail starts thinking a little differently.Billy tells us how his team signed up 18,000 customers to their loyalty scheme in just nine months, discovering that half of them were also donating stock. With £5 vouchers driving customers back into shops, the scheme is giving the charity a whole new way to understand its customers, build relationships and turn shoppers into supporters.But that's just the beginning. We get into charity shops in the metaverse, how to optimise sales data, experimenting with AI, creating new products, finding funding for innovation and, importantly, what happens when a supposedly brilliant idea just doesn't work.Billy makes the case for being curious, trying things, failing quickly and looking outside the charity sector for inspiration.Because the future of charity retail might involve a loyalty card, a metaverse shop... or something we haven't even thought of yet.
- Jul 14, 202645 min
Kat Maclennan: The £0 Shop Refit and How to Transform a Charity Shop Without Spending a Fortune
In this episode, visual merchandising expert Kat Maclennan shares practical ways to increase sales through better layouts, stronger stock presentation, improved customer flow and smarter use of existing fixtures, often with little or no spend. From common VM mistakes to budget-friendly success stories and myth busting advice, this episode is packed with ideas you can put into practice straight away.
- Jul 7, 202632 min
Lesley Kennedy and Marie Egerton: Creative Recruitment People Strategy in Charity Retail
Who's going to run tomorrow's charity shops?The job market is getting tougher, volunteers are harder to find, and succession planning is becoming a priority for more charities.Charlotte Greenwood and special guest host Hannah Weet from the Charity Retail Association are joined by Lesley Kennedy (RSPCA Derby & District) and Marie Egerton (St Rocco's Hospice) to discuss creative recruitment, attracting the right people, developing future leaders and building stronger retail teams.Packed with practical ideas and real life examples, this episode is full of inspiration for any charity retailer looking to strengthen their people strategy.
- Jul 1, 20261h 1m
Voices From the Charity Retail Conference 2026: Stronger Together
In this special conference edition of Charity Shop Chat, Charlotte is joined by guest co host Hannah Weet from the Charity Retail Association for a whistle stop tour of this year's CRA Conference.Rather than one guest, this episode brings together a whole range of voices from across the sector, delegates, speakers, and exhibitors, sharing their favourite sessions, biggest takeaways, and best ideas from the last two days.Whether you were at the conference with us, listening back afterwards, or couldn't make it this year, tune in for a flavour of the energy, ideas, and conversations shaping charity retail in 2026, and plenty of inspiration to take back to your own shop.The Charity Shop Chat podcast is powered by the Charity Retail Consultancy.
- Jun 25, 202639 min
CRA Chief Executive Robin Osterley: A Decade of Charity Retail Leadership
As Robin Osterley OBE prepares to retire as Chief Executive of the Charity Retail Association, we reflect on a defining chapter in charity retail leadership. In this special episode of Charity Shop Chat, Robin looks back on his years representing thousands of charity shops across the UK, from advocating on business rates and regulation to strengthening benchmarking and professional standards. We explore the sector's evolution and the challenges that still remain in the sector.Robin also shares what he's most proud of, what he thinks his successor will inherit, and why, even as costs rise and AI looms on the horizon, the people who work and volunteer in this sector remain its greatest strength.This is a conversation about leadership and the responsibility of shaping a sector that supports communities and plays a vital role in the circular economy. It is a thoughtful look at what has been achieved, and what comes next.Thank you, Robin, for your decade of dedication. All of us at the CRC wish you a very well earned retirement.
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About The Charity Shop Chat
The Charity Shop Chat is a podcast for anyone who works, volunteers with or simply loves charity retail. Hosted by Charlotte Greenwood and Mimi Cartwright, the show brings together honest conversations with the people who make the sector what it is - people working everyday support our high streets and create real lasting change in the non profit sector. Each episode spotlights stories and teaching from behind the counter; the challenges, the moments that make it all worthwhile, and the realities of working in charity retail today.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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The Charity Shop Chat covers topics including Business, Non-Profit. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
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