Thursday, October 15, 1998
ASUCLA looks to expand its commercial ventures
SALES: Cash-strapped association may open store in Santa
Monica
By Neal Narahara
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA merchandise will find a second home on the Third Street
Promenade in Santa Monica in November.
The Associated Students of UCLA (ASUCLA) plans to open its
second UCLA Spirit store three doors away from the UCLA Extension
office.
Although opening a store on the Promenade has been talked about
for several years, the final stages of planning have only taken
place within the past two months.
"We still haven’t signed the lease," said ASUCLA executive
director Patricia Eastman.
ASUCLA decided to open another store because of flat sales at
the UCLA Store on campus.
"The population is relatively constant at 50,000 people," said
Richard Delia, ASUCLA chief financial officer. "There is a limited
market on campus."
ASUCLA is hoping to be ready for a Thanksgiving opening to
capitalize on the beginning of the holiday shopping season.
The Spirit Store will not be the first of its kind. ASUCLA also
owns and operates a location on the Universal Citywalk.
The Citywalk store was opened initially to sell books to
students at the UCLA Extension site there. While it did sell some
UCLA merchandise, its main focus was not on commercial retail.
Since its opening, the Citywalk store has proven to be highly
successful, becoming the highest earning retail store for its size
in the area.
The Citywalk location made $1.3 million in sales last year,
averaging $800 in sales per square foot. ASUCLA officials are
hoping that the new 2,000-square-foot store at the Promenade will
duplicate the success of the Citywalk store. The new store is
expected to make $1.4 million in its first year of operation, Delia
said.
"The money that (the Promenade store) makes will go to ASUCLA,
enabling it to provide student services," said Ahmed Shama, an
undergraduate representative on ASUCLA’s Board of Directors.
The Promenade location is attractive because it is easily
accessible and because it is located close to a UCLA Extension
site, according to Shama.
"There is a huge loyalty base for UCLA in the Westside," said
James Friedman, a graduate representative on the board.
Although the Promenade store looks to be highly profitable,
ASUCLA is only now in a position to consider such an
investment.
The students association is in the process of recovering from
near bankruptcy in 1995. The association still runs a yearly
deficit, but association representatives say it has recovered
enough to allow it to invest in a new off-campus store.
It will cost ASUCLA an estimated $325,000 in capital investments
(construction, equipment, shelves, etc.) to open the new store.
"At this point, ASUCLA is (financially) ahead of plan," Friedman
said. "With the addition of (the Promenade store), we can be
further ahead."
The store is about more than selling merchandise with the UCLA
logo emblazoned across it, Friedman said.
"We’re trying to create exposure for the total campus," Eastman
added.
ASUCLA plans to incorporate-pieces from the Fowler and Armand
Hammer museums into the store in the form of art posters.
"We’re not just hocking our goods," Friedman said.
"We know if UCLA goes to the Fiesta Bowl for the national
championship, we’ll sell a ton of sweatshirts and T-shirts, but
UCLA (also) has an academic history. We take pride in not just
being a one-dimensional school."
Friedman added that if ASUCLA was motivated solely by profit,
the association would simply license the UCLA name to vendors and
not operate a store. The association feels it is better able to
represent the university’s interests in its own store.
Although there are currently no plans for further expansion of
ASUCLA’s off-campus enterprises, the students’ association is
cautiously optimistic about the idea of further expansion.
"I think we need to make sure all these (new ventures) are
working before we start any new operation," Friedman said.
"I really hope it is something that will happen, but it’s too
early to say," Eastman added.
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