Goodwill Industries Opens Outlet World on Kearney
By Erin Vanderberg, Editor
On Saturday, November 10, Goodwill Industries of Denver opened the doors of their newest Outlet World store at 4355 Kearney Street with a grand opening celebration.
“We put up the “Now Open” sign on Friday night and we instantly got traffic,” said Randy Dohne, Vice President of Operations for Goodwill Industries. “We had to send people away and tell them to come back tomorrow.”
The outlet store model gives goods another chance to be purchased after not selling in Goodwill’s 26 traditional retail stores (27 counting the Cherry Creek boutique) in four weeks time. Goods are presented in long blue wheeled carts and are priced at $1.49 a pound for the first 19 pounds and down to $0.79 after 50 pounds. Dishware, shoes and media are sold at a separate rate. Trays are refreshed every 30 to 45 minutes each day.
Outlet World is part of Goodwill’s concerted effort to get the most value out of every donation while keeping as many goods as possible out of landfills. Goodwill Industries of Denver receives an estimated 90 million pounds of donations each year. Currently, 25 percent of donations are sold at the retail stores, 25 percent are sold at the outlets, 30-35 percent is recycled, and 15 percent (mostly furniture) goes to the landfill.
According to Dohne, this is a very competitive margin with the major box stores, particularly considering Goodwill is dealing in used items.
Proceeds from all Goodwill thrift stores go to fund programs in the local community that seek to reverse the cycle of poverty through career preparation and skills training for at-risk youth, struggling adults and individuals with disabilities.
To learn more, visit www.goodwilldenver.org.