'Queen of stores' set to add her touch to new charity shop

Published on Monday 15 June 2009 10:01

A NEW charity shop modelled on a store created by the "Queen of Shops" is set to open in Edinburgh.

Retail guru Mary Portas has been working with Save the Children to revamp and revitalise a charity shop in Orpington, Kent, for the BBC programme Mary, Queen of Charity Shops.

The redesign has proved a huge success, with Ms Portas convincing several celebrities to donate designer clothes. The publicity helped to almost double the store's takings.

Save the Children said it was now planning to use a similar format for a new boutique-style store currently being set up in Stockbridge.

The charity has taken the lease on the former VMH estate agents office next door to the former Woolworth's on Raeburn Place, and is understood to be recruiting volunteer staff. The new store is likely to open later this year.

The charity said it was looking to bring in the same design team that worked on the Orpington store, and would be looking to re-create the physical layout of the Kent shop, and it said it would also be trying to bring in the same level of designer fashion and celebrity gifts, making it more of a "boutique" store.

It was not clear how much involvement Ms Portas would have with the creation of the Edinburgh store,

but she said: "It has been great working with Save the Children and the volunteers at Orpington.

"We are seeing a charity shop revolution taking hold across the country and I am working with Save the Children to see how we can roll out what we have done in Orpington to their other stores.

"Edinburgh is on that list, so watch this space."

Rob McMillan, Save the Children's regional retail manager for Scotland, said: "We are currently hoping that the Stockbridge store will be a kind of Edinburgh version of what Mary Portas has created for us in Orpington."

Ms Portas is one of the UK's foremost authorities on retail and brand communication, and is credited with making Harvey Nichols a modern fashion powerhouse after convincing Jennifer Saunders to promote it on Absolutely Fabulous.

Stockbridge Community council chairman Nigel Bagshaw said the charity shop would be a welcome addition to the area.

He said: "It is important to maintain a balance, and we need to make sure that there are not too many charity shops in the same area. I do think this would be welcomed, however, and more and more people are looking to charity shops in these difficult financial times."