This past year, the Campus Store has set up a selection of their inventory in the Kerr-Pegula Field House (KPFH) during highly attended sports events like the Section V and Section VI track and field meets. The arrangement is still being treated as an experiment, but it has the potential to allow for the Campus Store to increase its revenue on weekends and at special events, as well as to increase exposure for the Houghton brand.
Since the KPFH officially opened in October of 2014, the building has hosted approximately 18,700 guests for multiple events held by outside groups, a figure that does not include Houghton College students, faculty or staff. However, these guests do not necessarily travel from the KPFH to the college’s main campus during their visits. Anticipating this, Campus Store Director Heléna Oden asked to meet with Executive Director of Athletics Harold “Skip” Lord to see if plans might include space for a storefront in the KPFH at the time of the building’s design. While there was no room in the plans for a permanent store, they agreed that the Campus Store should have a presence in the KPFH, especially at events attended by non-Houghtonites.
“To my mind, our main goals have been to increase revenue for the store, as well as to increase brand exposure for the college,” said Lord. Robert Pool, Vice President for Student Life, agreed the arrangement could help advertise Houghton.
“It’s a way to get the Houghton name out there,” he said. “It’s strange, because when you get outside of Allegany County, not many people have heard of Houghton College unless they have some sort of formal connection through family or a close friend; it’s just not in the consciousness, even in Buffalo. Getting the word out there, getting the exposure is a key opportunity.”
Oden agreed with this statement, adding that the set-up would also allow for Houghton families to find apparel even on weekends when the Campus Store has limited hours. With these goals in mind, Oden and Lord worked to find a trafficked area in the KPFH to set up a temporary space. They decided it would be best for Oden to set up her stock at the brick wall between the men’s and women’s restrooms by the concessions stand.
With help from her intern, Lauren Campbell ‘16, Oden then selected items from the store’s inventory to sell at events. At first, they chose mostly brand name products, but they quickly received feedback that attendees would prefer less costly options. In response, the duo included Houghton foam fingers, blankets, hats, and less expensive t-shirts to lower the price. In order to increase the variety of stock, Oden and Campbell tried setting up an iPad to display their website so that visitors could see the store’s full inventory. Visitors were also given the option of ordering an item on the website while at the event, and then picking it up at the store when they opened again the following week.
“We’ll do more of that in the fall, too,” said Oden. “We also thought we could make specific t-shirts for certain events, or even more specifically athletic related items. That way we don’t have exactly the same inventory moving in both locations. It’s still a big work in progress.”
This work in progress will continue next year at other major events hosted at the KPFH, including Homecoming and other sporting events.