Back in July, we were delighted to be announced as being ‘Supplier of the Year’ in the Charity Retail Awards. We were nominated by The Children’s Society, a company whom we’ve worked closely with for over 5 years. We provided them with our innovative CHARiot EPoS system and worked alongside them to develop new functionality.

The Charity Retail Awards were designed to highlight the important work of those in the charity industry – they are the only ones that exist within the sector. The awards are awarded by the Charity Retail Association.

Who are the Charity Retail Association?

The CRA represents around 80% of the charity retail sector, an industry that generates around £300m per year in profit and uses thousands of volunteers.

The CRA has over 379 members operating across 8,000 different shops across the UK. It’s regarded as being the only body in the UK that puts the interests of charity retailers first.

What Are Their Aims?

The Charity Retail Association are the eyes and ears for the charity retail sector. Their aim is to provide important and up-to-date information on charity retail, as well as identify any issues that may be affecting it. They also want to work alongside any other relevant organisations in order to provide the best support for their members. The biggest aim of the CRA is to promote the benefits of charity retail to those who don’t know much about it.

What Work Does The CRA Do?

The CRA support the charity retail sector in a number of different ways. Firstly, they provide effective PR on behalf of their members, campaigning important issues such as the importance of Gift Aid improvements. They also hold various training opportunities, online groups, networking events and support meetings throughout the year, helping retailers to promote good practice and gain more public support.

As mentioned above, they are also responsible for holding award shows such as the Charity Retail Awards that we were proud to be included in.

The Future?

The Charity Retail Association are working towards one goal; a successful and effective charity retail sector in the UK. This is what all their promotion and support is for – they want the charity retail sector to be a massive industry on its own.

As a company who provides charity retailers with the systems needed to successfully run their stores, we are doing our bit towards promoting the charity sector and making it as good as it can be.

If you’re wanting to help towards this vision and are looking into running your own charity retail shop, we can help you keep on top of your sales and stock with one of our brilliant EPoS systems.

For more information on our charity retail systems, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can give us a call on 01204 706 000 and we will be more than happy to help.

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