Arrival of huge US thrift chain Savers unsettles Geelong op shops

Geelong op shops worried about arrival of Savers megastore Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 2:41pm In short: Charity op shop operators are worried about the impact of a new for-profit "thrift superstore" opening in Geelong's disadvantaged northern suburbs. Savers, the largest for-profit thrift retailer in North America, is expanding in Australia and a new Geelong outlet will open next month. What's next? A marketing professor says it will indirectly create pressure on op shops but not overwhelmingly. Pearl Fitton rummages excitedly through her bag of new purchases on the counter of an op shop in Geelong's northern suburbs. "Look at the price on that!" she exclaims, pulling out one of two saucepans with a $2 price tag sticky-taped on. Along with the saucepans, there are two pairs of shoes and a colander. "I get great bargains and the staff are fantastic," Ms Fitton says. "They help you with what you need." On this Monday morning, sunshine is streaming into Norlane's Lions Op Shop, where a handful of customers are peacefully browsing clothes, shoes, homewares and art. However, the second-hand retail ecosystem is about to change in Geelong with the arrival of "thrift superstore" Savers. The American company will open its first regional Victorian outlet on the Princes Highway in North Geelong on August 27. United States business records show the company employs more than 22,000 people and has more than 360 stores across the US, Canada and Australia. Savers' arrival has divided opinion among op shoppers. Ms Fitton is adamant she won't go there. "No, I just shop here," she says. "It's so good and I've picked up some wonderful bargains. "I love to come to this op shop." Trading on generosity In 2021, the census-based SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas) ranked Norlane as the most disadvantaged suburb in Victoria among larger population centres. The area has a handful of small op shops that depend on the generosity of donors and volunteers. All of the op shops raise money for charities or not-for-profits. "We do a lot of emergency relief, especially for immigrant families who come in who haven't got anything to start with," Norlane's Treasures Op Shop volunteer Rowland Bone said. "We have a program where we help them out with vouchers and then they come in and get all sorts of goods." Treasures is staffed by volunteers from the nearby Norlane Community Centre, where Esther Konings-Oakes is the CEO. "We're run by volunteers and all of the money goes back into the community centre, so it goes right back to locals," Ms Konings-Oakes said. "It doesn't get filtered anywhere else." On two days of the week the shop invites customers to "fill a bag" with clothing from the store for just $5. Money raised goes towards providing free tea and coffee, plants for the community garden and room hire for community groups. Ms Konings-Oakes said she was worried Savers' opening will mean Treasures would not get the same quality and volume of donations. She also said she was concerned some locals would not be able to afford to shop at Savers, and that Savers' revenue would be taken out of the community. "The visibility that they have on Melbourne Road means that people won't really look for the places that are not that highly visible," she said. Glen Little, who has volunteered at Treasures for six months, says Savers can't offer what customers get at the op shop. "They won't have the community spirit like we do," Ms Little said. She said she loved helping people such as Arthur Powell, who bought a pair of size 13 shoes for $3. Mr Powell moved from Melbourne to Geelong and said he would have a look at what was on offer at Savers. "I'm definitely going to have a browse around to see what's there for me," he said. "When I was in Melbourne, I did find them good to be honest because I'm an awkward bloke to fit for clothing, you know, size and all that." Op shopper Hannah Ruge said she did not think Savers would affect smaller op shops too much. "[Savers'] prices are much, much higher, so I think it wouldn't have too much impact on these little op shops because they're just treasures," Ms Ruge said. Payment details confidential At the end of 2024 Savers opened a "boutique thrift" store on Sydney's Oxford Street, followed by two more stores in Sydney last year as part of its Australian expansion. The new Geelong store will be the US-listed firm's 10th Victorian outlet and as the name "thrift superstore" suggests, it will be big. The former Rays Outdoors building in North Geelong has 2,300 square metres of retail space and 65 people will be employed. In a statement, the company says its average price per item is less than $10 (averaged across categories) and it will contribute to the community through its business model. "Savers accepts donations of clothing and household goods on behalf of our not-for-profit partners and pays them a market-competitive contractual rate for raw, unsorted goods," Savers Australia managing director Michael Fisher said. "We do not see this as an either/or choice between donating to a charity shop or donating through our not-for-profit partners. "Both models play an important role in encouraging reuse and diverting useful goods from landfill. "Last year alone, we helped divert more than 10 million kilograms of reusable clothing and household items from landfill across our Australian network." Diabetes Victoria is the biggest benefactor in Victoria as Savers' primary partner, but neither party would say exactly how much money the charity received. CEO of Diabetes Victoria Glen Noonan said the details of the charity's "supply agreement with Savers are confidential". But he said he believed there was room in Geelong for smaller op shops and Savers to co-exist. "Given the population in Geelong and surrounds is growing rapidly, we see a place for both donating to charity-run op shops and donating to not-for-profit organisations through Savers," Mr Noonan said. Cost of living affects new generation of shoppers Marketing professor at Deakin University Ahmed Ferdous said Savers' expansion was a sign of the times. He predicted the second-hand retail sector would take off in the next five years because of increasing environmental awareness and price pressures, and said Savers opening a store in Geelong made sense. "Geelong is Victoria's second-largest city and it's a growth market," Professor Ferdous said. "I think it will be kind of a trial for them. They will expand eventually depending on the success of Geelong." He said other op shops would have to adjust. "It will indirectly create pressure on the local op shops, but not overwhelmingly," Professor Ferdous said. "The challenge for local op shops is that they might lose out on the donations." Back at Lions Op Shop in Norlane, volunteer Deborah Westcombe says the new secondhand megastore would affect their donations but would be more expensive. "We keep everything very, very low for turnover to give back to the community so they can enjoy what we receive in donations," Ms Westcombe said. "We have the free table out the front. That's something they [Savers] don't have. "I stock that full and people love it." At the counter, local Troy Brown has bought a board game, some DVDs and what he calls "a really cool, old picture". "I'll check [Savers] out, but I do tend to find they're a bit more pricey," Mr Brown said. "In here, you know the money's going straight back into the community, rather than some big corporate."