Secondhand retailers inked the two biggest new leases in suburban Philadelphia’s shopping center sector last quarter.
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Red, White & Blue Thrift had the largest deal in CBRE’s third-quarter greater Philly retail report with its 47K SF lease at Flaum Management Co.’s Cherry Hill Shopping Center.
Liberty Ministries Thrift took the No. 2 spot with a 32K SF store that opened Oct. 11 at Brixmor Property Group’s County Line Plaza in Souderton.
The proliferation of secondhand stores and other discount retailers is sometimes interpreted as a recession indicator. But thrifting has been on the rise with even high-end consumers in recent years amid increasing demand for vintage items and concerns about the environmental impact of fast fashion.
Resale retail generated around $53B of revenue nationwide in 2023 and secondhand apparel sales are expected to rise 11% per year through 2028, according to data from Capital One.
Growing frugality among consumers explains part of the thrift industry’s expansion, CBRE Executive Vice President Steven Gartner said.
“Everyone is becoming much more conscious of costs,” he said. “Things have gotten expensive.”
The consumer price index for urban Americans increased 2.9% over the year leading up to August, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The food and energy index grew 3.1% over the same period.
But it isn’t all about cost.
“Thrift stores can reflect sensitivity to consumer pricing,” Brixmor spokesperson Maria Pace said in a statement. “They can also indicate other trends such as an interest in unique, one-of-a-kind items, the excitement of finding unexpected treasures and a growing awareness of sustainability.”
The new store joined what she described as a “value-driven” slate of tenants at the property about 35 miles north of Center City, including Aldi, Dollar Tree and Five Below.
Liberty Ministries is a regional chain with roughly half a dozen locations across Philly’s northern suburbs.
Red, White & Blue is a national chain with about 30 locations in the U.S. and a growing presence in South Jersey.
In addition to its existing West Berlin location, the company is plotting a 50K SF store in part of a former K-Mart in Lawnside, 42Freeway reported.
Gartner said secondhand stores are seen as “decent traffic drivers” and legitimate tenants in a way that they weren’t a decade or two ago.
“It was, not long ago, a use in the back of a shopping center and now it’s in the front,” Gartner said. “We’re not finding a lot of resistance from other retailers we’re trying to attract in those centers.”
Flaum, Liberty Ministries and Red, White & Blue did not immediately respond to Bisnow’s requests for comment.
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