ASUCLA keeps Spirit Store’s doors open
By Jamie Hsiung
Oct. 17, 2002 9:00 p.m.
Business at Universal CityWalk’s Spirit Store has been
steadily dropping over the past decade, but Associated Students of
UCLA officials say that it is in no danger of closing.
Unlike its fellow spirit store on Third Street Promenade in
Santa Monica, which closed after only nine months of operation,
CityWalk’s Spirit Store, is still making a profit, said UCLA
retail store director Keith Schoen.
“(Spirit Store sales) would have to drop very
substantially for us to even think about closing the store,”
Schoen said.
He added that ASUCLA could control the wages and hours of
operation in order to keep the store profitable when sales are
low.
“We’re not even considering closing it at this
point,” Schoen said.
The Third Street Spirit Store ““ which opened because board
members had hoped it would mirror the financial success of the
CityWalk store ““ closed in 1999, leading to a total loss of
$250,000 for ASUCLA.
But ASUCLA officials remain assured that CityWalk’s
financial situation will not transform into a situation like Santa
Monica’s.
A member of ASUCLA’s board of director’s finance
committee Dria Fearn pointed out since the store is still
profiting, it should be kept open because the student union is
benefitting.
“Every cent we make from the Spirit Store helps keep
student fees down,” she said.
The store’s lease, which was renewed in 1999, ends in
2005.
“(ASUCLA) renewed it because it’s a good
investment,” Fearn said. “As long as we’re making
money, why even consider closing it?”
ASUCLA Store General Merchandise Manager Patrick Healey,
attributes the drop in Spirit Store sales to the Sept. 11 tragedy,
which caused tourism ““ a substantial component of the
store’s customers ““ to decline.
“International tourism had slowed prior to Sept.
11,” Healey said. “Once Sept. 11 happened, it stopped
… all trips were cancelled.”
During the fiscal 2000-2001 year, there were a total of 356
tours on UCLA before dropping to 219 after Sept. 11.
Healey also added the tours were becoming shorter in length over
the years as international tourism dropped due to a floundering
overseas economy.
In turn, tourists were not spending as much time in Los Angeles,
resulting in a decrease in total Spirit Store sales.
Though the original intent of the CityWalk Spirit Store when it
opened for business in 1993 was to provide textbooks for the UCLA
extension program located upstairs, UCLA apparel was eventually
added.
But as extension classes were shifted to Santa Monica, the
demand for textbooks dropped, hurting Spirit Store sales as
well.
The Spirit Store could find itself deprived of more profit in
the upcoming years when the CityWalk extension program discontinues
in December.
“Textbooks do make a big part of our sales,” said
Marieo Lizan, who is a student supervisor at the CityWalk Spirit
Store. “Since books are $100 a piece, they’re really
helpful to our sales.”
Though textbook sales at the extension program “when full
blown” consisted of a “big percentage” of sales,
it has been shrinking, according to Healey.
“We’ve already anticipated that happening,”
Healey said, referring to the loss of textbook revenue when the
extension program discontinues in CityWalk.
To counter the loss in textbook sales, Healey said ASUCLA is
trying to market more to the customers in the surrounding
community. A store catalog also helps maintain sales even after the
customers return home, Schoen said.
But some students wonder why ASUCLA runs a CityWalk Spirit Store
in the first place.
Fourth-year political science student Keanna Sheu said she
visited the store for the first time a few weeks ago.
“It just seems really obscure, really random to have a
store over there,” Sheu said. “I actually asked the guy
over there why they need a spirit store, and he said it was for
tourists … I guess that makes sense.”
