Oxfam has said it "cannot give guarantees" over the future of its high street charity shops as it reviews its warehouse operations, amid falling donations and stiffening competition from online secondhand marketplaces such as Vinted. The charity insists it has no immediate plans to close shops or warehouses, but insiders fear its Batley site in West Yorkshire, home to its main textile recycling centre, could shut as part of cost-cutting once its lease comes up for renewal. The review follows similar retrenchment at other UK charities, including the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research, which have both closed shops and cut jobs amid rising costs and the shift to online shopping.

Oxfam is examining its three warehouses in Batley, Bicester and Milton Keynes, which together employ about 90 staff, and a source said the charity was considering closing up to 100 of its more than 500 UK shops. Oxfam Activities, the arm covering shop trading, recycling and festival stewarding, posted losses exceeding £2m in the year to March 2025, its second consecutive annual loss, with sales down 7% largely due to falling recycling income. Oxfam GB said its retail operations still generated a £6.3m net contribution to its humanitarian work last year, and pointed to recent moves including a new online rental service, in-house order fulfilment, a second superstore in Manchester, and its upcoming Second Hand September campaign.