Duke University Stores sports
mobile technology in its concession stand sales. On a typical day of college
football, stadium sales can be as brisk as the weather. Smoked turkey legs,
barbequed meats, fried chicken, and deep fried onions evoke the midway at the
state fair. But while the choices of Duke game-day delicacies€”edible, wearable,
and otherwise€”was high, payments options weren't. To address this customer
service issue, Duke University Stores, Durham, NC, which operates the food and
clothing Blue Devil Concessions at football games, decided to invest in wireless
technology to solve this problem, and improve concession stand service. In the
past, lines formed at food concessions with a cash "hand-in-fist" retail
system€”sales people generated a total and figured change in their head using an
apron full of money. Duke's five food concessions only accepted cash and the
on-campus DukeCard€”no credit cards. In addition, Blue devil Concessions also
manages about 10 independent food vendors at the games, some of whom were
limited to only taking cash, while a few could take cash and the DukeCard. Three
clothing concession tents operated from a cash box, and manual credit card
transactions were processed over several days through the finance office. The
potential for human errors to occur in these manual processes could have led
concession stands to lose money. Tracking inventory is a critical element in
food concessions, yet Duke couldn't be sure how much consumable food was at a
stand at any one time. "We've been looking for years for some sort of inventory
and POS apparatus we could use," states Ken Blevins, Blue Devil Concessions food
manager. "The biggest thing for me is inventory control€”to look instantly and
tell if someone in a stand was out of a food item or to get a pre-warning that
they were about to run out of an item."
MOVING AWAY FROM THE MONEY BOX
Although Duke University Stores
comprises 27 retail, book, and office service operations on the Duke University
campus€”including clothing and food concessions at all Duke University sporting
events€”campus sales in the past were generally confined to the four walls of a
store, describes Jim Zaorski, CEO, Sequoia Retail Systems. Now, with new
technology, Duke is able to more effectively sell with remote kiosks and
portable, handheld wireless devices with real-time, on-the-spot inventory,
ordering, and waste management capabilities. "Portable sales are the latest
breakthrough in five years," Zaorski says. "It moves the sale to the customer."
According to Zaorski, these portables have applications within the college store
as well as during remote sales events. For instance, a customer waiting in a
long line within the store can find a roving college store staff member with a
handheld device and check out right there; your entire staff can become portable
checkout stations if need be. Duke Stores started meeting customers' needs of
convenience and speed by gradually expanding its technology reach into outside
sales, selling school supplies and shirts remotely at freshman orientation. Duke
also conducted various textbook buyback programs using wireless handheld devices
and Sequoia software. In April 2004, the DukeCard office introduced its own
wireless devices and tested them, in conjunction with Duke Stores Blue Devil
Concessions, at the Spring Fest 2004 event, which signifies the end of classes
for undergraduates at Duke. "We felt confident they worked," says Tom Craig,
retail sales general manager at Duke. According to Craig, Blue Devil Concessions
decided it needed a significant number of wireless devices to cover all sales
areas, and clothing concessions decided it should piggyback on the plan. Duke
Stores purchased 48 wireless, handheld Palm Pilots for use at Duke University
sporting events. It kicked off its wireless concessions experience in September
2004 during the first football game of the year. "This was a sizeable
undertaking considering the breadth of the concession offerings at sporting
events," relates Brian Buttram, associate director, Duke Stores. "It has helped
move Duke Stores further into the forefront of technological advances in the
bookstore industry."
The complete article is
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Duke Article
20 Women to Watchby April Miller
Creativity and innovation are
the rule with these collegiate retail professionals. With women leading both the
NACS Board of Trustees and NACS Foundation Board, it seemed like a fitting year
to highlight a few of the women in the college store industry for their
innovative and creative approach to working in a college store. Whether it's
implementing budget controls, creating staff training programs, stocking niche
general merchandise, or finding new and efficient ways to serve customers€”the
ideas these women share are helping to lead college stores successfully into the
future.
SHARING FINANCIAL DATA
Therese Garufi, director,
Red Dragon Bookstore, College at Oneonta, Oneonta, NY
When Therese
Garufi took on the additional duties of interim director, the store was in the
middle of developing a business plan and the board was sending out requests for
proposals (RFPs), considering leasing the store. Upon review of the RFPs and the
store business plan and goals, the administration decided to keep the store
institutional. Garufi credits the help of a consultant and the NACS Financial
Survey and NACS Salary and Benefits Survey as aids in developing the store's
first-ever business plan. To increase the bottom line, an objective in the
business plan, she made sure merchandise was turning more frequently, that
salary and benefits were in line with industry averages, that margins were in
the right range, and more merchandise was brought from the back room onto the
sales floor. In two years, the store moved from a bottom line of about $12,000
to $150,000. Garufi is also a proponent of sharing store financial information
with her boss. They meet twice a month, and she provides him a summary of the
full financial report with year-to-date comparisons. "I give the information to
him as part of Oneonta Auxiliary Services (OAS), and also as if we were a
contract-managed store," she adds. "Since I have a line for OAS administrative
costs, I note each time 'here are the numbers without the administrative costs,'
so it compares evenly to what a contract-managed store could say." In addition
to being involved on her campus and in the college store industry, she's a past
president of the College Store Association of New York State, and attends as
many National Association of College Auxiliary Services and SUNY Auxiliary
Services Association meetings as she can. "I'm able to see what my boss is
dealing with; it opens my eyes to that," Garufi says. "Also, as my boss shares
auxiliary services information with me, I share all my industry publications and
web sites. They're helpful for him, too."
WELL-ROUNDED FOCUS ON MANAGEMENT
Pamela
Keeling, vice president of retail division, Texas Book Co., Greenville, TX
- SEQUOIA CUSTOMER -
Pamela Keeling
has experience working under all types of college store ownerships. She's worked
at an institutionally owned store, a privately owned store, and at a
contract-managed one. She also helped pioneer the way for women in management
when she was made Follett's first female regional manager in 1987. Keeling
credits the private sector that made her more accountable when it came to
budgets and execution. It's that accountability and budgeting discipline that
has helped Texas Book Co., under her leadership, grow from six to 24 stores, and
seen sales increase by more than $30 million. Tailoring each store to the needs
of the particular campus, instead of cookie-cutter stores, has led the company
to be successful, she says. "We talk to faculty, campus contacts, and students
to find out about the campus," Keeling adds. "We simply ask each of them what
they're looking for, and bring ideas from our other stores with us." Her
implementation of budgets for each store, staff incentives and bonuses, and a
management training program have also contributed to the company's success.
Texas Book Co. University trains managers and prospective managers on topics
that include textbooks, personnel, general merchandise, and accounting. "We
focus a lot on finances," she says. "Finances are not separate from good
customer service. If you are giving good customer service, you will be
profitable."
PARTNERING WITH ATHLETICS, ALUMNI
Bethanie Bass, director of university stores, Valdosta State University Stores,
Valdosta, GA - SEQUOIA CUSTOMER -
Creating partnerships and getting involved on campus is something Bethanie Bass
has been doing at her store since she started as temporary help one summer.
Although she was planning to start a teaching job after her summer work, Bass
enjoyed the store so much that she never left. She became the merchandise
manager and, following the retirement of former Director Tommye Miller, CCR,
Bass was appointed director. Partnerships she's initiated and developed include
a co-purchasing program with the alumni association. The association pays for
half of the alumni products in the store and receives half the profit. Alumni
association members also sometimes are able to select which products to carry.
"It promotes business," Bass says. "They'll come in and be happy to see what
they selected on the shelves, and buy." She also works closely with the athletic
department and athletic boosters. "The athletic department always includes us
now," Bass adds. "Even if it's not to sell, we would just as soon be there to
give something away. People will remember who you are and that you gave. People
we never saw before now come into the store." Athletic boosters were ordering
from a variety of places and mailing items to donors. After working with Bass,
they now order products from the store. Vouchers, redeemable online, via phone,
or in the store, are mailed to supporters. She's able to take advantage of
discounts and specials and bills the athletic department for what was paid, plus
5%. A refreshing of the university's strategic plan is underway, and Bass is
chairing a committee for goal one of the plan. She says this goal includes all
campus development, including a new union building where the store is to be
located. "The meetings allow for more exposure, input, and awareness of what's
going on," she adds. "If I wasn't on the committee, I would get all of the
information secondhand and not have input."
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