•Competition - learn from your competition visit other thrift stores and adopt best practices.
•Differentiation – set your company apart from your competition based on key elements such as pricing, product or service. Look for ways to separate your store from your competition and find a target market to go after. Maybe it means more personalized service and stylish clothing for women in their 50s or contemporary clothing and furniture for the millennial generation. Whatever target you choose, do your homework, make sure the target is sizeable, have products your target likes and have staff that looks like your target. If your target market is Hispanic families make sure you have staff who speaks fluent Spanish.
•Costs – For the non-profit, to keep your cost down go for a balanced mix of paid and volunteer employees.
For more detailed Best Practices click here.