WASHINGTON, DC–Goodwill of Greater Washington has just signed leases for two retail stores in Northern Virginia — one in Centreville and one in Manassas. They are part of a relatively new plan for the nonprofit to expand the number of retail stores in the Washington DC area to eventually reach 50 locations. And not just any location — the local Goodwill is specifically targeting affluent locations in which to locate its retail stores. This was the strategy suggested by a study commissioned in 2010, which determined that stores located closer to affluent donors significantly increase the quality of donated goods and thus retail sales.

That is because 1) donors are not willing to drive very far to drop off items and 2) they are more likely to donate if the process is easier and the newer stores are picked with comfortable drop off areas in mind. No parking in back by the dumpster anymore, in other words.

To understand why accommodating well-heeled donors is the driving force behind Goodwill's retail strategy, it is important to remember the non-profit's true mission — providing job training for those without a high school diploma, the disabled and people otherwise in need, Brendan Hurley, chief marketing officer for Goodwill of Greater Washington, tells GlobeSt.com.

“Most people know us as a place to bring donated clothes and other items,” he says. “But our mission requires us to sells those donated goods for as much as possible so we can fund our other services.”

It is, of course, a dance of sorts getting the location just right. A Goodwill store will not play well — nor could afford the rent next to Saks Fifth Ave. But it could, and does, do very well in North Rockville close to the former White Flint mall. Ditto 1776 G St., NW, where a Goodwill Excel Center opened last summer.

For the past year Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's retail team of Edward Goldmeier and Glenn Ulick has been helping Goodwill put this strategy in place, identifying and securing 12 locations to bring its total number of retail stores in the area to eighteen.

Finding the right location basically comes down to weighing the benefits and costs of each possible store, Goldmeier tells GlobeSt.com. “Some stores we did some work and the rent is in the single digits. Other stores have higher rents but the location has higher density and so justifies the cost.”

“We don't base the search so much on rent as an understanding of the components that help make a Goodwill store successful.”

Goldmeier and Ulick have represented the non-profit in more than 210,000 square feet of leases of both existing and built-to-suit space. Some of these sites are larger stores ranging from 20,000 to 25,000 square feet, such as the one at the Bowie Town Center and a re-use project for the former Office Depot in Clinton, Md. In Northern Virginia it has opened stores at Annandale Plaza in Annandale and Ashdale Plaza in Dale City.

Then there are the two latest deals: a new, 18,000-square-foot ground-up built-to-suit store at Prince William Gateway in Manassas, which will open in the summer of 2017, and a 17,739-square-foot anchor space at Sully Station in Centreville, Va., which will deliver in the fall of 2017.

Goodwill has also engaged Gensler & Associates to redesign the look of the stores.

“We don't base the search so much on rent as an understanding of the components that help make a Goodwill store successful.”

Goodwill has also engaged Gensler & Associates to redesign the look of the stores.

Instant Insights /

Goodwill's Counterintuitive Plan to Open 50 Retail Locations in Affluent DC

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