A CHARITY shop will re-brand itself as a discount store in the hope of attracting more customers in difficult financial times.
The Cancer Research UK shop in North Street, Leatherhead, will hold a grand re-opening with tea and biscuits for customers on Tuesday to mark the switch, which staff hope will boost sales.
Manager James Henley said the shop's pricing was already between the town's other charity shops and discount outlets, but he will now reduce prices further to bring in more customers.
"Obviously all the charities are struggling," he said. "With the recession we are trying to build up our clientele a bit more which is why we are going discount.
"People can get cheaper clothing, and that way we are trying to encourage them to come in a bit more and spend a bit more.
"Because we've got eight other charity shops we want to stay in with them and not go down too low, but try to make more money by going a bit lower."
The price of DVDs will drop to £2 and a CD will be £1, while clothing will be about £2-3 per item.
Mr Henley added: "I have been here for four years now and over the last couple of years it has really dropped off so that is another reason for going discount.
"We want to try and build up the clientele now it's all gone a bit quiet.
"We are hoping it will make us more money, but obviously you don't really know until you try these things."
The shop is following the example of the charity's outlets in Bognor and Walton, the only other Cancer Research UK shops in the South East to become "discount" outlets.
"Walton is quite a big shop and it does really well now and that's what we hope Leatherhead will do," said Mr Henley.
Falling sales in recent years have been matched by fewer donations, so Mr Henley is urging local people to donate anything they can.
He said: "Ninety per cent of the stuff is donated but we still try to run it like a business because if people aren't bringing stuff in we can't run the shop.
"In the last three or four months they have really slipped and it doesn't help that with the single yellow line outside the shop because whenever someone drops things off they get caught by the traffic warden."
