# Some charity shops not very profitable

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/03/02/some-charity-shops-not-very-profitable/
- Published: 2017-03-02T10:29:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Charity shops in Ireland can be expensive to run and return much less to charitable
causes than many people think, according to a detailed report in the Irish Times.**

The report found that **for every €1 spent in an outlet of Age Action about €0.33
went to the work of the charity**, while the figure is lower, at €0.14, for Enable
Ireland, and €0.09 for Oxfam.

Age Action’s charity shop operation had a turnover of €773,000 and had a profit 
margin of 33%, the highest in the survey. Of the big operators in the charity shop
sector, **St Vincent de Paul was the most profitable in money terms with a profit
of €6.8 million**.

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According to [the Irish Times](http://www.theirishtimes.com) there are **300 charity
shops in Ireland** with all depending on a mix of paid staff, volunteers and donated
goods to trade. Expenses such as rent, rates, electricity and paid staff, however,
eat into margins, the report says.

The report also drew on a report by the True and Fair Foundation in England which
showed that charity shops are on average less profitable than some high streets 
retailers even though they have a large volunteer input and free goods.