AbbevilleMummy wrote:Thanks for the response Fara but you didn't actually add any real information.
I don't know that its fair to say they haven't provided any real information. What I think is perhaps true, or maybe the point to raise is how sustainable is a retail based business model in difficult economic times?
That seems to be the question: they have a bricks n mortar based retail model, versus say Trinity Hospice who are more donation based - is the model now a problem? There are a lot of fixed costs involved in such a setup
Reserves seem high, but if they have committed to long term programs then it is arguable they are needed.
I do wonder if such a high multiple (reserves/annual charitable distributions), or how many years worth they are holding back is necessary. But it might be.
Trinity hospice is another worthy charity, who many do and should support. Comparing the efficacy of their operations with Fara might tell us more about their respective models than it does the efficiency of their management.
If there is an inherent weakness in their business model however, then I would think that is highly relevant to their customers, donors & supporters. Not to mention their directors
From the directors point of view Its one thing to say we do as well possible under the circumstances, when perhaps they are better off questioning if there a better way of doing things. I.e. a retail model generates 17p per £1, and perhaps that's a pretty good retail result, when whether to stick with a retail dominant model is the bigger issue.
I'd be interested if anyone is able to strip out the retail operations from an oxfam or a trinity hospice type setup. That would validate (or disprove) their claims about how well they run things
[quote="AbbevilleMummy"]Thanks for the response Fara but you didn't actually add any real information.
[/quote]
I don't know that its fair to say they haven't provided any real information. What I think is perhaps true, or maybe the point to raise is how sustainable is a retail based business model in difficult economic times?
That seems to be the question: they have a bricks n mortar based retail model, versus say Trinity Hospice who are more donation based - is the model now a problem? There are a lot of fixed costs involved in such a setup
Reserves seem high, but if they have committed to long term programs then it is arguable they are needed.
I do wonder if such a high multiple (reserves/annual charitable distributions), or how many years worth they are holding back is necessary. But it might be.
Trinity hospice is another worthy charity, who many do and should support. Comparing the efficacy of their operations with Fara might tell us more about their respective models than it does the efficiency of their management.
If there is an inherent weakness in their business model however, then I would think that is highly relevant to their customers, donors & supporters. Not to mention their directors
From the directors point of view Its one thing to say we do as well possible under the circumstances, when perhaps they are better off questioning if there a better way of doing things. I.e. a retail model generates 17p per £1, and perhaps that's a pretty good retail result, when whether to stick with a retail dominant model is the bigger issue.
I'd be interested if anyone is able to strip out the retail operations from an oxfam or a trinity hospice type setup. That would validate (or disprove) their claims about how well they run things