The SPCA has announced it will be opening a new op-shop in Princes St, the charity’s second store in Dunedin and its 89th store nationwide.
The building, at 471 Princes St, formerly housed the popular second-hand clothing store Toffs for nearly a decade, before staff were made redundant and the store closed in late 2021.
The closure of Toffs was met with tears and calls for a petition to halt the closure from shoppers, and the building has sat vacant until now.
SPCA op-shops and retail regional manager David Hutchinson said it would be great to have stores on both sides of the city.
The SPCA already had a second-hand clothing store in North East Valley, but the central Dunedin location would be "a lot bigger", he said.
Measuring 960sqm, it would be "the largest store that the SPCA has got" and could accommodate a greater variety of products including furniture, homeware and pet accessories.
The store came with a truck allowing for furniture pickup, deliveries and home clearances.
Dogs would also be allowed in-store.
The charity had been searching for a bigger site in Dunedin and the chosen site would be at "the heart" of a collection of larger op-shops in the area, Mr Hutchinson said.
"All of the big op-shop names are there and people love to op-shop.
"They can do the whole gamut of all of the op-shops so it’s a perfect location."
Mr Hutchinson said op-shopping had become popular with all demographics, but he hoped Dunedin’s students in particular would love the new store because of its variety.
The building was the "perfect shape" for retail and was massive, enabling a great shop floor and space for storage and processing donations.
It was great that the building would continue to serve the people of Dunedin in the same way that Toffs had, he said.
Mr Hutchinson said the op-shops in Dunedin were "extremely popular" given their size, and there were not many towns in New Zealand where there were so many big op-shops available.
"I think that it’s something that Dunedin loves and I think that we are going to add to that."
The SPCA is seeking volunteers for the central Dunedin store, which is expected to open on October 5.
