SYLACAUGA, Alabama, May 25, 2026, 10:09 (CDT)
- Alabama Goodwill launched its Sylacauga store and donation drive-through, following a ribbon-cutting on Thursday.
- Goodwill is pushing new locations for 2026 and getting ready for another Maryland store, which will have a soft opening on May 26.
- The expansion boosts donation capacity, with secondhand stores vying for budget shoppers.
Goodwill Industries opened a new store in Sylacauga, bringing out a big crowd at 620 W Fort Williams St. The Alabama thrift chain added a donation drive-through at the site, the company’s latest outlet in the state.
Goodwill says stronger demand for used goods is pushing it to open more stores and call for more donations, aiming to boost funding for job services. Shoppers are still price-sensitive, so what happens in one city could matter elsewhere.
Goodwill COO David Eagles told Modern Retail earlier this year that 2026 looks set to be its “biggest year yet,” with plans for about 100 new stores, some in larger formats. He said value matters “more than ever” right now, and that younger shoppers view secondhand as “smart” and sustainable instead of settling for less. Modern Retail
Alabama Goodwill’s Sylacauga site is open for retail shoppers and as a donation drive-through from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. The group uses donated items to back its programs focused on community support, job help, and education, according to Alabama Goodwill.
Goodwill of Greater Washington is preparing to open a Germantown, Maryland, store and donation center on Tuesday, May 26, with the doors set to open at 10 a.m. in the Waters Village Shopping Center redevelopment. They’re taking donations now ahead of the soft opening, which comes before a formal launch. The move lines up with a broader push for more stores.
Goodwill of Greater Washington plans to open its first retail store and donation center in Montgomery County north of Gaithersburg at the Germantown location, according to MoCoShow. The move comes after Goodwill opened in the Montrose Shopping Center in Rockville earlier in May. The latest store gives Goodwill another spot in the county, where both retail space and donation activity are key.
Resale is getting more crowded as Goodwill chases demand. Online players like ThredUp, Depop, and OfferUp are seeing higher activity from bargain shoppers, Modern Retail reported. But Goodwill’s model is different, depending mostly on donations and local shops instead of online sellers listing items.
Goodwill’s expansion carries risks. Opening new stores means finding dependable donations, enough workers to sort inventory, and steady shopper traffic to fill each location. Eagles said big stores only make sense where donors and volume are already strong, and said Goodwill will keep closing some stores as it tweaks its footprint.
Goodwill doubles down on jobs push in latest growth. Steve Preston, the president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, said the network now counts 150 local Goodwill groups, about 140,000 employees, and last year served 2.1 million people with job training, career help, and social services.
The near-term question in Sylacauga is if people who showed up the first week will come back to shop or donate. Goodwill is banking on this store, the latest in its push to grow thrift retail, while the wider retail market remains choppy.
