New consciously designed charity superstore has all the heart

We will be opening a brand-new store concept ‘Store of the Future’ on Thursday 1 May in Edinburgh’s Straiton Retail Park.  

We have always been committed to driving sustainability. Whether that’s saving 54,000 tonnes of goods from going to waste each year, including 186,000 sofas and armchairs, selling over 11,000 tonnes of preloved clothes, or using energy efficient lighting in our stores across the country, for example. 

Now we are taking the next step in that journey. The new design elements of the store include a cash desk made using waste textiles sourced directly from our shops, clothing hangers produced using ocean plastics, flooring produced from recycled materials and an entire lighting system that was produced via a 3D printing process using recycled plastics.

This is our first shop that the ‘Store of the Future’ concept is being trialled in. 

The 7,000 sq. ft store will showcase a range of preloved clothing, accessories, homeware and books. Value and choice remains at the heart of our retail offering and customers will be able to discover more for less every day.

The store’s front window have been styled using one-of-a-kind upcycled pieces by actress and our Retail Ambassador Kimberly Hart-Simpson using preloved items from our shops.

The store will also feature upcycled furniture from design students at The University of Edinburgh. 

No avoidable waste

The store has its own defibrillator attached to the external wall, helping to protect hearts of the community. We are also investing over £60m into pioneering research in Scottish universities and all the money raised in this new store will help continue funding this lifesaving work.  

Professor Matt Reed from the University of Edinburgh will be attending the opening of the new store on Thursday.

He is leading a BHF-funded clinical trial to test whether a potentially game changing advanced heart monitoring patch can better diagnose heart rhythm problems in people who attend A & E with unexplained fainting. This is just one of the many groundbreaking studies we are funding in Scotland.

Allison Swaine-Hughes, our Retail Director, said: “This Store of the Future concept is our next step we’re exploring for our retail estate.

"As the UK’s largest charity retailer, we remain committed to reducing, re-using and recycling our resources so that there is no avoidable waste. We are testing new ways in which we can be better for our customers, donors and the environment, all while continuing to raise vital funds for our life saving research.  

“Shopping with us isn’t just about saving money, it’s about saving lives by helping to fund research into heart and circulatory disease and saving unwanted items from going to landfill, which we know is also motivating shoppers to choose to shop with us. We look forward to welcoming everyone through the doors very soon.” 

The Edinburgh Straiton store will open at 10am on Thursday 1 May 2025.  

Store of the Future

The store's features include:

1. A cash desk countertop produced using waste textile direct from our shops. This is processed to form individually unique panels.
2. Waste/ damaged CD’s and DVDs being chipped and cast in beautiful sheet material to produce the in store peg boards.
3. Waste plastic/bubble wrap/plastic bags being formed to manufacture unique lamp shades above the cash desk
4. The entire lighting system produced via a 3D printing process utilising recycled plastics.
5. All clothing hangers produced using ocean plastics and self-coloured.
6. The splash back panels in the staff kitchen and WCs are made from recycled bottle tops.
7. No MDF, MFC and oil based materials.
8. A carpet made using 94% recycled materials.
9. A new retail display system designed to be easy to use, versatile, aesthetically pleasing, commercial, low carbon and cost efficient. This is entirely manufactured in the UK.
10. Information plaques around the store will feature Braille descriptions.

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