Monday, October 28, 1996
ASUCLA:
Board members expect to turn a profit by the year 2000By Frances
Lee
Daily Bruin Contributor
Hurt by the delayed opening of the remodeled and expanded
Ackerman Union, the students’ association Board of Directors expect
to suffer a loss of $3.3 million during the 1996-97 fiscal
year.
The speculated loss, which board officials had hoped to keep to
a minimum with the reopening of the new store early in the year, is
larger than the $3.1 million the association ran into the red
during the 1995-96 fiscal year but came as no surprise to the
beleaguered association.
Much of the board’s hope for a faster financial turnaround
rested on having the new student store open this September in order
to take advantage of the Fall quarter buying rush and holiday
season, as well as having all services in one central location.
Construction delays pushed the projected reopening date back to
a January opening, and ASUCLA is starting to feel the effects of
the delay on their budget.
Presenting the new budget before the board, Finance Committee
Chairman Levin Sy told members that there would be a loss in the
upcoming year.
"Most of our income comes from the (UCLA) store," he said,
stressing that losses were due in large part to the late opening of
Ackerman.
Food services posted disappointing returns for the year, showing
a 13 percent loss in sales during the current month, down by
$117,700. Much of the loss was attributed to the fact that many
students don’t know the Cooperage, which lost $51,441 over the
month of October, is even open.
"Food operations are really hurting," said Chief Financial
Officer Rich Delia. "Cooperage has been hurt without traffic on
(the A-level of Ackerman Union). We’re starting to see the effect
of (Ackerman) not being completed yet."
In addition to the losses in food services, retail sales of
Bearwear and textbooks are also down about $283,000 for October.
Those losses are largely due to the tapering off of the buying
season and the fact that the student store’s temporary home in
Towell Library is "off the beaten path," said board Chairman James
Friedman.
"We’re losing money  that’s the bottom line," Friedman
said. "Our concern is, do we need to lose this much money?"
Nevertheless, the ASUCLA board still maintains an air of
cautious optimism as Ackerman nears completion.
According to the five-year master financial plan, the
association expects to operate at a loss for the next three years,
breaking even in 1999, and eventually turning a profit in 2000. The
association is pinning their hopes on increased revenues from the
new student store, and expected realizations from capital and other
investments made in order to turn the association around.