EXECUTIVE COMMENTS:

November-December 2011
Adapting Quickly

No matter what role you play in the college market — bookstore manager, buyer, auxiliary services director, vice president of business or student affairs, distributor, supplier — adapting to change is something you must do every day, every week, every month, every semester.

Keeping up with trends is an essential component of your store operations. From the latest in campus fashion to the most up-to-date iPod accessory, you have to make sure that your shelves are stocked with the newest and hottest merchandise.

But how do you know what's hot and what's not? The college bookstore market is constantly evolving, with new items in all categories being introduced at a rapid rate, and the way you do business is itself shifting swiftly.

In technology, new tablet reading devices are entering the college market that allow students to download digital books, newspapers, magazines, music, TV shows and movies, as well as browse the Internet, upload and view YouTube videos and interact with friends through Facebook and other social media outlets, just to name a few features.

Of course, the emergence of tablets is just one example of how the marketplace is constantly changing.

Textbook rental programs have been popping up in more and more college stores, whether stores manage the rentals themselves or outsource operations of their rental program to an online provider.

We learned by speaking with point-of-sale (POS) service companies in this issue that running textbook rental programs within the store, or allowing the provider to manage the rentals once the student transaction is completed, could help you achieve higher margins, increase student traffic and make your lives a little easier.

Another way to keep track of what's new and available for college stores is by attending conferences and trade shows, during which you have the opportunity to meet with vendors and talk about how their products would fit into your assortment.

Prime opportunities for you to meet with college vendors, and find out what new products are available to you, are right around the corner.

With the new year about to ring in, there is a string of four conferences — including two in one location — over the first three months that we strongly encourage you to take advantage of.

The Independent College Bookstore Association (ICBA), Connect2One (C2O) and the New England Buying Consortium (NEBC) are three major buying groups that host conferences each year that allow you and your colleagues to talk about what new and exciting things they and you are doing in your stores.

By networking, you could obtain new ideas that can be applied to your store that would entice students to walk through those doors and make those purchases.

The fourth conference on the early-2012 slate is arguably the highlight event on the college bookstore meetings schedule — Campus Market Expo (CAMEX) 2012, which takes place at the beginning of March in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Educational sessions cover many of the emerging trends in the college market, but the CAMEX trade show is what it's all about — you have three days to discover the hottest products being offered by vendors representing nearly every conceivable category that you could carry in your store. The trade show is essentially a “What's new?” smorgasbord for you to feast on.

Your responsibilities as a bookstore manager are wide ranging. Whether you are preparing your store for Back to School, keeping track of inventory, managing your staff or attending conferences, you are working all year long to ensure that your store is the No. 1 shopping destination for students, faculty, alumni and visitors.

ICBA Marketing and Membership Manager Sadja Pals notes that the theme for the ICBA 2012 conference is “Velocity. Extraordinary Times. Innovative Solutions.” She's spot on. Changes are taking place in college stores rapidly, and the pace seems to be picking up.

To continue wowing your students, you must adapt quickly by keeping up with current and future developments that this constantly changing market has in store for you.