Store gallery: First look at Charity Super.Mkt’s Bluewater pop-up

Charity Super.Mkt, which was launched earlier this year by Maria Chenoweth and Wayne Hemingway, offers “curated collections” of pre-loved fashion and considers itself to be the “department store for secondhand style”.

The new 9,000 sq ft store opening at Bluewater “responds to the growing popularity of pre-loved shopping” and aims to provide customers with both quality and affordability.

Charity Super.Mkt’s latest pop-up opened on September 28 and will welcome shoppers until Sunday, November 5.

Shoppers can expect to find 10 charities represented in store, including Age UK, Cancer Research UK, Havens Hospices, Traid, Marie Curie and Shelter.

The Bluewater opening follows previous pop-up successes for Charity Super.Mkt in London, Glasgow, Reading and Bristol.

The retailer said its expansion strategy will “help to cement the brand as a household name” in a bid to drive greater revenue for its portfolio of charity partners.

Hemingway said: “It is a mere seven months since we started on this journey to attempt to demonstrate that charity secondhand fashion could and should be part of a modern retail mix in the busiest of shopping centres. Charity Super.Mkt is proving that and more.

“Not only is the concept exciting customers, allowing them to do their bit for society, the environment and their own pockets, it is creating uplifts in footfall and, most importantly, providing much-needed income for charities.”

Chenoweth added: “My career and ambition has always been to promote secondhand fashion as the most impactful way to dress ourselves.

“The creation of Charity Super.Mkt has brought charity retailers into mainstream retail, gaining locations that would have otherwise been inaccessible.

“Charity Super.Mkt gives charities the opportunity to raise more funds and that means more nursing time in hospices, more support for animals, more research into cancer and, in Traid’s case, more support for the people who make our clothes.

“We’re really excited to be taking, for the first time, Charity Super.Mkt and charity retail into Bluewater, the UK’s second-largest shopping centre.”

Nik Porter, head of retail brand account management at Bluewater manager Landsec, said: “Retail trends will continue to evolve as people’s lifestyles and habits change, so it’s important that retail destinations like Bluewater are able to keep their offer fresh and relevant.

“Today’s consumers are looking to make informed, sustainable choices without compromising on how they look and feel. As a result, there is clear demand for stores like Charity Super.Mkt that offer a curated collection of high-quality, one-off pieces.”