Goodwill follows donors with south Reno store

Goodwill Industries of Northern Nevada's lease of a big-box retail space at Neil Road and South Virginia Street gives the non-profit apparel and household goods reseller the opportunity to be close to its donor base, says Rob Harden, marketing chief executive officer.

Goodwill Industries signed a 10-year lease at 6407 S. Virginia St., the former location of CompUSA. The 31,000-square-foot space will be divided into a 15,000-square-foot resale operation and donor center, while the rest of the space will be used to process donated goods. About 4,700 square feet will be used as an employee training area.

Goodwill Industries expects to hire 35 to 40 people primarily serving as donor greeters, sorters and sales associates for the new store. (A job fair is scheduled Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Goodwill store at 2424 Oddie Blvd).

Harden says the organization began looking for a south Reno location about a year ago, working with Brad Elgin of Stark and Associates/ TCN Worldwide Commercial Real Estate. With a strong donor base in south Reno, Goodwill Industries was interested in expanding to that area.

Goodwill Industries scouted seven or eight locations, Harden says, before selecting the old CompUSA building, which enjoys proximity to a Whole Foods Market location just across Neil Road.

"We looked at who feeds our stores and who feeds our jobs," Harden says. "Whole Foods has a strong demographic of people who also are donors. Retail customers will follow our donors."

Dunham's Commercial and Residential construction company of Sparks is reworking the interior of the building to meet Goodwill's specifications. Harden expects the retail center to be open in October.

"A strong retail operation starts out with a strong donor base, which is atypical of most businesses," he says. "This is a long-term commitment, but based on our mission of providing employment, we think the south Reno area is strong enough to provide employment to the retail base. We should be successful over a period of time."