Record sales day leads to record month

With three sales days left in the month of November we have already reached a record in sales for one month.  A number of factors have led to the great sales this month.  The donation from Buccini/Pollin Group (which is still coming in), our one year anniversary sale, and some publicity in the local newspaper.

We will be picking up more furniture from Buccini/Pollin Group for a few more weeks.  In the meantime it has been selling almost as fast as we can get it on the floor.  Anyone who thinks they missed out on buying something from the donation may want to check our sales floor again.  Two people have asked us if anymore of a particular item has arrived just as we were getting more on the floor.

Last week's sale celebrating one year in our new location went exceptionally well.  WJBR ran ads during the week and broadcast at our location part of the day, and we had 10% off all purchases.  Our sales for the day were the highest other than our opening day.

Just before the first wave of furniture from BPG there was a write up in The News Journal about the donation.  The paper also put in a nice piece about our anniversary sale.  After more than nine years of existence many people are not aware of the ReStore.  Both of those mentions along with the advertising for the sale have increased the number of people who are aware of the store and the kind of items we sell.

In the future we plan to expand our marketing of the store.  Bank of America Charitable Foundation has awarded Habitat of New Castle County $200,000 which will be used to hire more staff and increase marketing.  The ReStore has grown quickly over the last few years and we are looking forward to major growth continuing into the future

Donation from Wohlsen Construction

Earlier this week we picked up a donation from Wohlsen Construction.  It included doors, windows, and dozens of medicine cabinets.  The medicine cabinets are new in the box and made by Strasser Woodenworks.  They measure 36 x 6.5 x 27.  Strasser medicines cabinets regularly retail for $1000 and more.  We are selling these at a fraction of that amount.

Wohlsen Construction is a leader provider of construction services in the Mid-Atlantic region.   Founded in 1890 in Lancaster, PA the company now has  offices in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.

One year in our new location

Tomorrow, November 10th, is the one year anniversary of our Grand Opening in Prices Corner.  We have been very fortunate in this location.  The store is much more visible and easier to find than our old location.  This has led to an increase in both customers and donation drop-offs.  That in turn has led to a huge increase in sales.  It is difficult to make a direct comparison since the transition from one location to the other caused a steep drop in sales the last few months in the previous location but average monthly sales now are about 40% above what they were in the old location.

Next Saturday, November 16th we will celebrate our anniversary.  All the plans have not been finalized.  We do know we will have a radio station broadcasting from the store.  Other details will be advertised in the local newspaper and on radio.  

We have plans to continue our growth with increased marketing and more donations from companies.  Habitat has hired a procurement manager to solicit donations from local companies.  This will help us bring in more high volume donations that can really drive customers into the store.  It should make for an exciting second year.

More from Buccini/Pollin Group to come

Almost everything we picked up from the Buccini/Pollin Group donation has been priced and put on the sales floor.  We had an entire tractor trailer packed with furniture plus we picked up furniture in our own truck.

The furniture has been selling fast.  We plan on making a few trips this coming week to pick up more of the furniture from the donation.  There is still furniture from The Residences at City Center to be picked up.       This week we will also be getting items from five apartments in Justinson Landing that Buccini/Pollin Group is renovating.