This article is provided by BRC Retail Member, British Heart Foundation.
__________________________
As part of our Buy Into Retail campaign, we’re spotlighting the work retailers are doing when it comes to growth, people and sustainability. Today, we focus on sustainability, and the way in which BRC member, British Heart Foundation, have promoted preloved shopping as a way to power retail's circular future.
As Retail Director at British Heart Foundation, I’ve seen first-hand how powerful retail can be when it’s rooted in purpose. At BHF, we’re proud to be part of a movement that’s not only transforming how people shop, but also how we think about sustainability, community and impact.
Each year, our 680 stores across the UK sell around 25 million donated items over the counter. That includes everything from sofas and beds to books, dresses and mobility scooters. In doing so, we help fund lifesaving research into cardiovascular disease, as well as keeping over 54,000 tonnes of goods from going to waste.
Our approach is simple: if it has value, we’ll try and find a way to give it a second life. We call this our “Any” strategy. Whether it’s a donation from a customer, a business, a hotel or a high street retailer, we work hard to try and make sure it ends up in the right place, on the right platform, reaching the right customer. With a unique combination of high street shops, large-scale home stores and significant e-commerce operations, including our position as the largest charity seller on eBay globally, we’re able to match each item to the most effective channel. This multichannel approach means that if shoppers can’t find what they’re looking for in-store, they can easily browse online from the comfort of their own home - making preloved shopping more accessible than ever.
We’ve seen the impact of this model through partnerships with brands like Charles Tyrwhitt, Benson for Beds, Dunelm and more recently, Community Clothing. Charles Tyrwhitt’s shirt reuse scheme alone has raised over £2 million and diverted more than 26 tonnes of clothing from landfill. Bensons for Beds have also just celebrated an incredible £8m stock donation milestone having advocated the BHF’s collection services over several years, which is the kind of collaboration that shows what’s possible when sustainability and retailers come together.
Our new overall BHF strategy highlights the importance of accelerating our impact using new technologies, and across our Retail operations this is no different.
We’re currently rolling out openFleet, which improves how we manage our van service in our Home stores by optimising routes, automating customer communications, and providing real-time job tracking and visibility for our BHF shoppers and donors of stock. As the first UK charity to implement a fully digital logistics system at this scale, not only enhances our customer experience, but also significantly reduces road miles - aligning with our sustainability goals.
Experimentation has always been a key part of what we do to help us problem solve and stay relevant in a transforming retailer landscape. Thanks to a brilliant collaboration between BHF, Microsoft and PwC, we have now built a cloud-first, AI-powered app that has reimagined our stock management process. This categorises, prices, and suggests the channel for sale e.g. store or online. It also manages the inventory lifecycle and Gift Aid tracking. By using AI we get value right and cut environmental waste by minimising unnecessary shipments and maximising the sale of preloved items. We’ve also seen benefits for our teams by freeing them from repetitive tasks giving them more time to engage with customers, a change that’s had a hugely positive impact on our teams.
As we all recognise, sustainability is not just about the environmental pillar, but social and economic impact. With stores in many cities and towns across the country supporting the local economy, we are also incredibly grateful to be powered by over 18,000 volunteers who build and share skills whilst giving back to their respective communities.
By rethinking how we support, source, and sell within our retail operations in a sustainable way, the future possibilities of preloved retail are significant when we can be open to any source of donation. This will bring us even closer to our goal to create a world where everyone has a healthier heart for longer.
If you’re a retailer looking to reduce waste within your supply chain, support your ESG goals and make a real difference, we’d love to work with you. Find out more at https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/corporate-partnerships
