Bigger Lifeline store to fund more crisis calls

LIFELINE’S Grovedale shop reopened in a new, larger home this week, with the expansion expected to help fund more calls to the charity’s crisis support service.

Retail operations manager Peter Kalogeropoulos said the organisation had spent eight years at its former Grovedale premises but had outgrown the space. The new site, just across the road, will double the shop’s footprint to 600sqm, giving Lifeline more room to display stock and serve customers.

“We felt we had a lot of stock to offer the clients in Grovedale, but we couldn’t fit as much as we wanted into the current location,” Kalogeropoulos said.

He said the expansion comes at an important time for a not-for-profit charity facing rising operation costs.

“The biggest balancing act in a not-for-profit charity is running a profitable retail location with rising costs,” he said. “The only way we can actually make a profit is because of the volunteers”.

Kalogeropoulos said the shop typically has just one paid staff member on duty each day, alongside five to seven volunteers, and that all profit from retail sales goes directly towards paying for Lifeline’s call centre operations.

“We’re hoping to see at least another 10 to 15 per cent extra gross profit per month from the new store,” he said, adding that the increase could help answer about 50 extra calls each month.

He said the opening was about more than retail growth.

“People can go home, call Lifeline after a bad day, and know the shop they walked into that same day helped pay for the person answering their call,” Kalogeropoulos said.