The largest for-profit thrift-store chain in North America, Savers, which operates as Value Village in Washington, filed an initial private offering this year of more than $500 million, and also aims to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. Yet the discount retailer is still often mistaken for a charity, though the company prevailed in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit that had accused it of deceptive marketing.
The Washington state Supreme Court’s Feb. 23 ruling in State of Washington v. TVI, Inc., d/b/a Value Village, which overturned charges of deceptive marketing against Value Village, was a big win for the giant international thrift store chain, which posted $1.4 billion in sales last year, ending the Bellevue-based company’s eight-year legal battle with the state. To consumer advocates, however, the judgment in the high-profile case felt like a blow to consumer rights and a loss for transparency to some.
The long-awaited decision sparked a wide range of responses – from exuberant backslapping among the corporation’s top executives and followers on social media to hand-wringing among consumer protection advocates and cries of shock among nonprofit thrift stores. Truth in Advertising (TINA.org), a Madison, Conn., consumer-advocacy nonprofit dedicated to fighting false advertising and deceptive marketing, called the ruling “bad news.”
“This ruling is an insult to all the real, genuine nonprofits working hard to help real charities at work helping people,” said Susan Smith, manager of a Kirkland-based, all-volunteer nonprofit thrift store, Eastside Community Aid, funding housing, hunger and mental health. “Value Village is in the business of making money – as much as possible – and not really focused on helping people.”