The doors to Greater Manchester’s massive pop-up charity ‘department store’ are closing this week, and it’s launched an UNMISSABLE sale to celebrate.
In case you missed it, Charity Super.Mkt opened inside The Lowry Outlet shopping centre down at Quayside MediaCity back in November of last year, and during its extended 12-week run, it’s proved to be a huge success – having sold more than 8,000 items to the value of more than £64,000 over the last couple of months.
Over two tonnes of clothing has also been saved from landfill since the pop-up opened in Salford, as has more than 20,000 kilograms of CO2 emissions – which is apparently equivalent to travelling over 79,000 miles by car, 3.2 times around the world, or saving enough water to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
And so, in a bid to celebrate its success and to suitably “go out with a bang”, everything in the shop has been reduced for the final week of opening.
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This means that, from now up until this Sunday (28 January), savvy shoppers have one last chance to bag themselves the bargain of the month, as the prices of all items have been slashed to just £3 each.
Some of the top picks you can get your hands on for only £3 this week include band tees, forgotten football tops, and all sorts of denim, as well a range of sports gear and players shirts recently-donated by Super League rugby club, Salford Red Devils.
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Greater Manchester’s massive pop-up charity shop is closing its doors this week / Credit: Supplied
All proceeds from sales made this week will be donated to the charities involved with Charity Super.Mkt – including St Vincent de Paul, Traid, and All Aboard.
“The success of Charity Super.Mkt has shown that there has been a real shift in consumer shopping habits,” commented Wayne Hemingway MBE, who is the co-founder of Charity Super.Mkt, as the £3 sale was announced.
“People making a concerted effort to shop more sustainably and with purpose, and Charity Super.Mkt facilitates that and more, allowing people to shop at reasonable prices while helping a good cause too.”
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The prices of all items have been slashed to £3 each for the final week / Credit: Supplied
Mr Hemingway has insisted this “isn’t the end” of Charity Super.Mkt at MediaCity.
He continued: “We’re looking forward to returning this summer during We Invented the Weekend festival, and continuing to foster the sense of community support and charity that the North of England does so well.
“We’ve really showcased that fashion can be fun, affordable and fair to all.”
Fancy a £3 bargain then? Charity Super.Mkt is open until this Sunday (28 January), before returning to Quayside MediaCity for the We Invented the Weekend festival on the 15 and 16 June.
Featured Image – Supplied
Shopping
First look at Topshop in Manchester as beloved brand returns to British high streets
Daisy Jackson
Topshop is officially back on British high streets, and if you’re old enough to remember the struggle of contorting yourself into a pair of Joni jeans, you’re going to want to pay attention to this news…
The iconic fashion giant shut its stores back in 2021, leaving a huge hole in shopping centres across the nation.
But now Topshop and Topman are back in stores, with 32 new Topshop retail spaces and seven new Topman locations launching today.
Mancs will now be able to shop cult denim, statement jackets, and trend-driven wardrobe staples (just like the golden days of Topshop) at the Trafford Centre.
It’s all thanks to a new nationwide partnership with John Lewis, which will see a curated edit of around 130 styles available in-store across womenswear, menswear and footwear.
In store, that includes a full range of jeans (including those beloved Joni and Jamie jeans, plus more modern barrel-leg styles), graphic tees, knitwear, bomber jackets, and dresses.
There are Topshop retail spaces inside John Lewis at both the Trafford Centre and in Cheadle, but our closest Topman will be across in Leeds.
John Lewis has also become the exclusive UK physical retailer for Topshop footwear for SS26.
Inside Topshop at the Trafford Centre in ManchesterThe iconic Joni and Jamie jeans are back
Michelle Wilson, managing director of Topshop, said: “Today is about making it easier for customers to access the Topshop and Topman pieces they love.
“From our cult denim to new‐season footwear, you can see it, feel it and take it home the same day. Partnering with John Lewis brings Topshop back to high streets across the UK with the level of service our customers expect.”
Peter Ruis, managing director of John Lewis, added: “Topshop and Topman are brands with enormous cultural relevance, and their return to physical retail is something our customers are genuinely excited about.
“This partnership reflects our focus on bringing iconic names, strong style and compelling experiences into our stores.”
First Look: Matcha Made and The Trafford Centre makes for a perfect marriage
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester’s newest matcha spot just dropped, and we know it’s an easy pun, but it really does feel like a match made in heaven.
Just picture the scene: there’s a big birthday or holiday coming up, so you’ve arrived at The Trafford Centre early to get in a full day of shopping, eating and being generally leisurely – but you need an early caffeine fix and maybe some light, fluffy yet still filling pastry to keep you going.
There are very few places better to start this kind of day than at Matcha Made, who’ve just opened up in the North West’s massive and most famous shopping mall.
Fronted by a lovely lineup of smiling staff who couldn’t do enough for you and are more than happy to give you advice or simply plug their own recommendations, we can see ourselves coming back here for the service alone.
They’ve arrived in the big leisure complex just in time for February half-term, too, meaning any parents needing an alternative caffeine hit can fuel up right here.
Specialising in the Japanese and super healthy green tea craze that currently has the UK in a chokehold, only directly out of a tap – almost like a zen twist of draught beer taps – the art is not only in how green the raw matcha itself tastes but in the flavours and finishing touches.
This stylish pastel green hatch might not be the only place to get your matcha on in The Trafford Centre, but it might just be the best already.
It was immediately apparent that the staff had a clear favourite: the Biscoff foam version, but they said their simple but sweet and satisfying strawberry one has also proved to be one of the most popular.
There’s plenty of fruity options to choose from; they’ve got their own take on the fellow contemporary trend of banana pudding for anyone looking for a fix, and even ume plum, or you can just go for a straight-up coffee or hot chocolate as well.
So yeah, even if your partner isn’t quite ready to admit they’re a secret ‘matcha girlie’, then they can spend a little bit more time lying to themselves over this side of the menu.
Whether you want it topped with cream, shavings or a light dusting of cocoa powder, you can make this little drink just about as decorative as you like.
Besides being more reasonably priced than we were expecting, given the ongoing matcha boom, you’ve also got the big bonus of a fridge stocked with bakes from local favourite La Chouqette. Sold.
Emily Sergeant -
22nd January 2024 
