By Jennifer Reichert
Daily Bruin Contributor
The Associated Students of UCLA may have advertised a Halloween
sale but the most popular items weren’t pumpkins and
broomsticks, but rather, school supplies and Bruin apparel.
The association brings in $120,000 to $150,000 on a typical day,
but profits increase to $400,000 to $600,000 on a sale day, said
Patricia Eastman, ASUCLA’s executive director.
“The items are discounted, but they still generate more
than they would without a sale,” Eastman said.
She said that the purpose of the sale is two-fold. First, it
clears out merchandise at the end of a season to make room for the
new season. Secondly, it gives students the opportunity to buy
pre-holiday merchandise at a discounted price.
Tuesday’s Halloween sale ““ an annual tradition for
at least the past 20 years according to Rich Delia, chief financial
officer ““ raked in $637,000, with apparel sales alone raising
$400,000. Last year, ASUCLA made $772,000 from this one-day
sale.
Supplies such as computer products in “Essentials”
made a total of $120,000 this year. Another $64,000 came from
academic support, such as lecture notes and textbooks. The rest of
the balance came from sales in Lu Valle and Health Sciences.
Delia said a number of factors account for this year’s
decreased sales, such as the rain on Tuesday and the present state
of the economy.
Another reason for the decrease in sales is due to two large
“Score Big” days in which students, on the Monday
following a football game, receive 5 percent off purchases for
every touchdown the Bruins score, for up to 20 percent off. Both of
these recent “Score Big” days had already earned the
association $100,000 each.
“Students bought heavily on those days,” Delia said.
“After buying that much, their pockets are depleted a little
bit.”