A GLASGOW social enterprise has managed to reach 7,000 followers on their 7th birthday.
Merry-go-round, a clothing store specialising in pre-loved baby and children’s items, was set up by local mum Samantha Moir to help support local families.
The store credits its success to receiving the stamp of approval from Revolve, Scotland’s re-use quality standard scheme. The kitemark, awarded by Zero Waste Scotland, the organisation behind Revolve, which guarantees customer they’re going to save money and find great quality items in store.
Since opening its doors in April 2012, the charity shop staff have been overwhelmed with the response and support from the local community, rehoming over 130,000 items to over 40,000 Glasgow families, equating to over 42 tonnes of items given a new lease of life.
Since receiving the certification back in August 2015, the store has seen sales soar as customers are reassured they are buying quality goods from a trusted source. The Revolve logo has helped change perceptions of shopping second hand, which has ultimately resulted in the stores success, as it now looks to expand into bigger premises to cope with demand.
Commenting on the importance of helping Scots waste less and save more, Samantha says, “Second hand doesn’t have to mean second best”
She said: “As a Revolve certified store, we offer quality and pre-loved pieces where customers can be confident that they are buying quality goods from a trusted source.
“We stock absolutely everything that you would need from the moment you get pregnant right the way through to age five, all of which are quality checked, so you really are getting great value and more for your money, whilst also doing your bit for the environment.”
The store also provides employment and volunteering opportunities within the local community, with a team of eight full time staff, a further 10 people have been supported into work thanks to valuable experience and training and over 50 volunteer opportunities created.
As well as selling everything from clothes, to toys, prams, books, cots and accessories, the store is also used as a community hub where families can come together for local events. In the past seven years the store has hosted over 1,500 events, bringing over 41,000 locals together, helping to build valuable community support networks.
And it doesn’t stop there, the store also works with over 100 registered partners including Shelter, Refuweegie and the Govanhill Community Development Trust to provide free starter packs to expectant mums referred by the local charities, with over 1,500 free packs of essential items donated to families in need.
Commenting on the stores achievements and double milestone celebration, manager, Rajkiran Atwal, said: “I’m so proud of our brilliant team and thrilled at how supportive the local community has been. Thanks to the success we’ve outgrown the store space and we’ve ambitious plans to expand into the retail unit next door.
“We’re on a mission now to make the next seven years just as successful. A bigger space would allow us to showcase 90% more quality items and open up a whole new world of possibilities for our events programme. We would also be able to create additional jobs within the local area and could even keep the store open seven days a week.”
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, added: “It’s great to see the success Revolve certified stores are achieving, we’re thrilled Merry-go-round is making such a difference within the local community.
“The certification allows stores selling pre-loved items to showcase quality when it comes to re-use, and with more people shopping second hand it helps us to achieve a more environmentally friendly city that will benefit us all.”
To mark the milestone celebrations, Merry-go-round has launched a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to expand. You can visit Merry-go-round’s go fund me page here.
