Openness to Opportunity Can Fill Revenue Gap

Three campus stores described some of the ways they unearthed more revenue in an educational session at CAMEX 2020 in New Orleans: Redefining Profit in the Age of Affordability. Although the session predates the pandemic, all three stores had previously faced revenue challenges from declining textbook sales.

For Matt Portner, Jared Ceja, and Julie Banks, CCR, the key has often been the willingness to take a risk on new things, capitalizing on opportunities as they arise, and developing campus relationships.

“One strategy is just trying everything and it’s been effective,” said Banks, director, University of Dayton Bookstore, Dayton, OH. She gets ideas from talking to industry colleagues and attending conferences and webinars.

The 49er Shops, California State University, Long Beach, positioned general merchandise more prominently by rearranging departments within the building. For instance, computers and tech products (a destination department) moved from the bottom floor to the second, freeing up room on the first floor for GM items. GM sales are growing with “the last five years better than the previous seven,” said Ceja, formerly director of bookstore services at the 49er Shops and now executive director of the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation.

The store also brought in a credit union to provide financing for laptop purchases, providing an added revenue boost. Departmental computer purchases also go through the store.

Portner, auxiliary services director at Ashland University, Ashland, OH, found himself with a very special opportunity when his university became the education provider for 67 correctional facilities in 10 states. The students in these programs don’t have access to Wi-Fi, so they all need print textbooks. Portner jumped at the chance to supply the books, even though it was overwhelming for the Ashland University Bookstore at first. Ashland enrolls about 2,200 undergraduates a year, but the correctional programs totaled more than 3,000 students.

“We struggled for a while, but I was adamant our campus store be the provider for these programs,” Portner said. Instead of the institution hiring a procurement officer to handle textbooks for the program, the store was able to add a full-time textbook manager.

Banks was also able to grab onto a similar opportunity at Dayton. “It always dumbfounded me that they outsourced our stadium shop to a third party,” she said. But when the stadium underwent a major renovation, she saw a chance for the bookstore to take over the retail space in the stadium.

The move paid off. “We’ve seen our GM sales skyrocket,” Banks said.

How can the campus store find out about opportunities? One way is by maintaining close relationships with other entities on campus, which increases the chances the store will hear about something going on and also make others more aware of the store’s capabilities.

At the 49er Shops, connecting with the campus is important. “All of our management team is involved in volunteering at campus events,” Ceja said. Over time, a number of functions have come under the store’s umbrella, including department purchasing, warehouse, property management, and lost and found. The store stepped up to handle these services when the previous managers resigned or retired.

Portner’s store at Ashland also manages services such as procurement for office supplies, paper, and water, adding on a small margin for these purchases. The store is responsible for trademarks and licensing as well. “That allows us to stay in the game with custom printing,” he said, along with engraving services for nametags, nameplates, trophies, and award plaques.

“We’re setting ourselves up to be the source,” he noted.

However, while he’s prepared to tackle new opportunities when they show up, Portner also realizes he needs to take some precautions on the institution’s behalf. “I like to be pretty careful. We look at things. Can I break even this year? That means I miss a lot of things,” he said. He keeps his eye out for procurement or business activities that already align with what the store is doing.

Ceja did the same thing. “We try to capture everything that’s not value-added,” he said.

The University of Dayton Bookstore handles mailing services and has become the campus shipping center.

Despite searching out general merchandise and services to bump their bottom lines, none of the three had given up on course materials sales, though.

Banks pointed to a “robust rental program,” a growing inclusive access program, and “sourcing lots of used books more strategically” as efforts that have succeeded at the Dayton campus, although she recognized that each school’s needs may be different. “You have to find programs that work for your store,” she said.

She makes a habit of sitting down with instructors to explain the services available at the store and how they can be customized to suit.

Rentals and used books have declined somewhat at the 49er Shops, but the store reclaimed market share with the Day One Digital Access program, which has saved students a lot of money. The store also functions as a gatekeeper for content accessed through the school’s learning management system.

Inclusive access also permitted the Ashland store to regain market share despite a lower margin.

“Inclusive access allowed us to transition the discussion from ‘We just sell books’ to ‘We offer a level of efficiency and expertise,’” Portner said.