Goodwill continues to grow, opening new store near Mt. Pleasant
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Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania seems to be in a growth mode, what with the recent opening of an outlet store in Monroeville and the impending opening of a new store near Mt. Pleasant.
“We do have a lot of donations,” said Goodwill spokesman David Tobiczyk. “We’re very fortunate and appreciative of the general public in Western Pennsylvania because our donations have been strong.”
On Wednesday, Goodwill will open its new store at 280 Crossroads Plaza in East Huntingdon, near Mt. Pleasant — just across Route 819 from the current location.
Following a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony, the first 150 customers will receive a gift. There also will be music, raffles and free refreshments.
Revenue for nonprofit thrift stores in the United States grew more than 2% annually over the the last five years, with the industry reaching $10.2 billion in 2019, according to IBISWorld, a market research firm. Fueling that growth is consumer demand for sustainable consumption, the group reported.
Goodwill Industries in 2017 generated about $6 billion in retail sales through its stores and online shopping, according to the Association of Retail Sales Professionals.
The new location in East Huntingdon follows the prototype for stores that Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania has been using for the past decade.
“Mt. Pleasant has long been an excellent Goodwill store location. That’s why we are so pleased to move to this new site in this community,” said Andrew Marano, vice president for donated goods retail.
The 15,750-square-foot store includes 8,000 square feet of sales floor space, as well as donation and processing areas designed for great efficiency, Tobiczyk said.
“The new store gave us the opportunity to set it up in a way that’s more efficient for us,” he said. “It’s important for all the goods to move freely and easily from the donation site to the sales floor.”
The store has a more open concept and green technology, including energy-efficient HVAC and electrical systems, he said. The donation drop-off point now has a drive-through area.
Donations are sold in local Goodwill stores to provide funding for Goodwill’s job training and education programs.
“Our goal at Goodwill is for our stores to generate as much revenue for Goodwill programs as possible. It’s our responsibility to make the best use of the public’s generous donations,” Tobiczyk said.
Another area of growth has been Goodwill’s outlet stores. In addition to outlet stores in North Versailles and Heidelberg, Goodwill opened a “pop up” outlet store in March in the former Gander Mountain location off Route 22 in Monroeville.
The idea, a first for southwestern Pennsylvania, has been tried at other Goodwill stores across the country.
“We had enough excess donations that they could be sold at a third outlet,” Tobiczyk said. “We really had a backlog because we had so many donations, and that’s why we opened a third.”
Items sold at the outlet stores are “last chance” items that have not sold at the regular stores. Time on the sales floor is limited — about two hours — and is followed by recycling, he said.
“It’s doing well, and the customers do enjoy it,” Tobiczyk said. “We will look to do other pop-up outlets in the area if we’re able to find space that’s amenable and if we have the goods.”
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania operates 31 stores, including 25 in southwestern Pennsylvania. Two stores considered unproductive, in Whitehall and on Pittsburgh’s North Side, closed in 2018.
Goodwill organizations operate in the United States, Canada and a dozen other countries.