The Collegiate Retail Alliance demonstrates that college stores can improve performance through close cooperation and sharing common business practices, without surrendering individuality.

Built on a foundation laid with its founding 10 years ago by the college stores of Cornell University, Brigham Young University, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Connecticut and the University of California San Diego, the alliance is defining and deploying best practices that enable its members to improve efficiency and service. To accelerate this process, 24 of its core members have made a pact to pioneer the development of scalable innovations like the digital delivery of course materials and then to serve as the industry's earliest adopters.

These “core members” also commit to attending annual business planning meetings; being accountable to a common framework of measurement; making and keeping corporate commitments to strategic supply channel partners; and maintaining a current version of Visual RATEX.

A step toward its goal, the alliance bought RATEX in December 2000 as the platform to deploy best practices by incorporating related processes and decision rules directly into its software. RATEX Business Solutions Inc. integrates college store operations, including EDI, inventory management, retail accounting and point of sale. Of the $940 million in business flowing through alliance members, $786 million as processed through Visual RATEX.

This year, CRA's core members will deploy five major initiatives. All initiatives were chosen by the group, and every member is involved in at least one, with some even investing money, explained Bill Simpson, president and general manager of the UConn Co-op.

The benchmarks initiative, codifies, or standardizes, the way members compute key business indicators (both financial and operating). Measurement is built into the software used for inventory management to insure accuracy.

In February, the Retail Alliance and RATEX Business Solutions won the 2009 Leveraging Excellence Award from the National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education (NCCI).

NCCI recognized the alliance for its success in founding a business alliance unifying college stores, especially through the development of the Visual RATEX college store business solution. After purchasing RATEX, the alliance began a member-driven reengineering of the system that included transitioning to the Windows platform.

This work continues to sharpen performance by developing and deploying best practices, and maximizing the collective buying power of its members. Alliance core members recently met together for a full day at CAMEX and for nearly three days in late July at their annual strategic planning meeting in San Francisco. “It sometimes takes a long time for things to happen quickly,” said Rich McDaniel, the Collegiate Retail Alliance president and chairman, and a senior consultant with Cornell University, referring to the long history of failed predictions. “But the transition of this industry has clearly begun. Together, we (the independent stores) plan to play a significant role in the changes to come.”

Information about CRA is available online at www.CollegiateRetailAlliance.com.

When 17 members of the Independent College Bookstore Association agreed to share a year of each store's financial data with RMSA Retail Solutions for analysis, the group results have stores taking a closer look at inventory management for better performance.

During ICBA's annual Retail Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., this year, these 17 stores agreed to organize into a peer group that, using 2008 data, worked with RMSA to forecast key financial performance areas influencing the bottom line, including open to buy, vendor analysis and cash flow. Results are further analyzed by breaking down categories into specific segments, such as studying fleece, T-shirts, hats and outerwear within apparel.

“All of these are intended to improve the financial performance of the store,” explained Stacy Waymire, ICBA executive director. “Each store can benefit from what's happening at the other stores.”

RMSA concluded the participating stores buy broad and wide, but tend to have inefficiency with inventory. The best way to form efficient inventory is to narrow the assortment down to key items and have strong back stock. Knowing pens sell well, stores may decide to have 12 different types in inventory, but pens come in many different colors and not knowing which is popular results in over stocking.

A key lesson is stores “need to be more diligent than ever to control inventory,” said Paul Erickson, senior, vice president, RMSA.

He suggests stores be most diligent about maintaining stock on staples, follow open-to-buy, do not overstock and turn stock over in a reasonable time, including marking down mistakes to get rid of slow-selling items and improve turns.

Auburn University Bookstore is in its third year working with RMSA. In that time, the store learned to react faster to unforeseen events by closely evaluating categories for potential growth or risk and take immediate action for inventory control.

The store is better able to forecast sales, plan margin and turns expected by each department, make sure inventory is in line and make adjustments up or down depending on trends.

“I've found we have talented buyers who are good at determining what customers want, but not so good at making sure the football team does well and the economy does well,” said Katie Lee, director, Auburn University Bookstore.

When Auburn's football team performed below expectations last year, the store wound up overstocked. The store responded immediately by marking down slow-sellers to boost sales volume and reach goals, but had enough open-to-buy budget in reserve to purchase strong selling items.

The first cut is the cheapest, Lee said, recalling some useful advice she received from RMSA. Early markdowns in response to slow sales happen when customers are on campus with time to buy, she explained.

Monitoring sales monthly with its inventory management system, Lee said, the bookstore sees when turns slow and other metrics point to merchandise not moving. “When the football team is hot, the sales are astronomical,” she said. “When its not, we can easily get stuck with inventory.”

ICBA EVALUATES MEMBERS FOR BEST PRACTICES AND TOP PERFORMANCE

Each year the Independent College Bookstore Association evaluates the financial performance of members with its annual operating survey and recognizes those who have improved bottom line results based on sharper performance in specific areas of business.

To be eligible, stores must have completed the ICBA Operating Survey in each of the last five years. In all 47 stores out of 73 participants qualified to receive an ICBA Best Practice and Top Performance Award and were judged on five consecutive years of financial performance from 2003 to 2008. Winners identify members that made outstanding improvement in key areas over the five-year period and successfully executed significant, long-term strategic business initiatives.

Most important is the areas stores are recognized in change each year to reflect the influence of internal leadership plus strategy development and execution rather than external factors contributing to strong results, such as the success of campus sports teams.

During the ICBA 2009 Annual Retail Conference at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale Ariz., six outstanding member stores were recognized for best practices and top performance in six categories with awards selected and presented by Pat McGowan, president of the University Book Store at University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Kim Thomas, executive director for campus services at Boise State University.

COTTON AND BAMBOO ARE ALTERNATIVES TO RECYCLED PLASTIC FABRICS

Rising interest in protecting the environment is leading to greater use of recycled and natural, sustainable materials in college store merchandise, which can also strengthen customer relations.

Each year at CAMEX, vendors seem include a little more green merchandise. Not only are backpacks being made from recycled plastic soda and water bottles, but designer computer cases, too. Cotton and other natural materials add to the choices.

Isis Dei, a maker of cases and accessories for laptops and other portable electronics, is named for the Egyptian goddess of protection. Going a step further, it is committed to protecting the environment by emphasizing the use of recycled and sustainable materials in its cases.

By emphasizing recycled and natural materials, Isis Dei aims to establish an identity as environmentally friendly and make its cases an alternative to neoprene and nylon used by competitors.

Beginning this fall, all new bags, cases and accessories will contain a large element of material that is either recycled or sustainable. There is lycra made from recycled plastic water and soda bottles and reused neoprene as well as sustainable material made from natural bamboo. Another example is messenger bags and MacBook cases it makes using hemp.

“We try to incorporate designs using eco-friendly materials,” said Ian Foulke, vice president of marketing for Isis Dei.

Isis Dei is committed to using recycled and sustainable materials in its cases and is switching to environmentally responsible packaging as well.

Another step Isis Dei took this year toward being environmentally responsible was switching to aluminum-based packaging from materials containing PVC. The aluminum-based material is easier to recycle, Foulke explained.

Cases, sleeves and bags are stored and displayed in packing using aluminum-based backing and clear mylar in the front, he said. Isis Dei plans to move as soon as possible from using standard packaging materials.

The ultimate goal, he said, is to make packaging material as environmentally friendly as possible, including eliminating bleached cardboard. “Make sure your product is represented well and your packaging is also,” Foulke explained. “People attach themselves to that.”

Also part of the strategy is reducing packaging material required to ship and display bags and cases.A combination of unique structure and materials used allows storing multiple laptops in packaging made from recycled materials, which allows stores to buy fewer stock keeping units and take up less floor space.

In three new bags, Mobile Edge is emphasizing natural, replenishable, or eco-friendly, materials in place of synthetics and is eliminating petroleum-based parts where possible.

Made of natural cotton, the Eco Messenger bag is the latest addition to the Mobile Edge collection. Using cotton plus other non-petrolium materials in place of nylon makes the bag 80 percent biodegradable; the remaining content is plastic parts.

“We went with natural cotton, which is a replenishable material,” said Matthew Olivolo, director of public relations for Mobile Edge.

The messenger bag is designed in look and style for men and women, and the eco-friendly cotton/canvas material is durable with a heavyweight fiber density measuring 600 deniers. Colors are black, navy, red and olive green.

For women, Mobile Edge has the eco-friendly tote, which uses the same material as the messenger bag, but has a shoulder strap and is uniquely styled by female designers. On the inside, the tote features a soft, silky liner that is striped and matches the exterior.

Another feature of the tote is the interior is divided into different compartments for an external power supply, wireless mouses, flash drives and digital music players.

Adding convenience are a removable computer section and hideaway mesh water bottle pouch. Users can take out the computer section and use the tote for other purposes. The water bottle pouch unzips and pops out.

Colors are tan with chocolate straps, navy, all chocolate and black.

“It is designed by women, for women,” said Olivolo, of the tote. “There's plenty of room for everything you need to take with you.”

A third style is a backpack, which is a style more popular with men. “At the end of the day, it is functional and looks good, it's a homerun,” he said.

Cases can be ordered in cartons of five. Usually, a carton is all the same color, but assortments are available.

Prices range from $59.99 for the Eco Messenger to $69.99 for the women's tote. All styles have a lifetime warranty and can be sent back for replacement if a strap or zipper breaks.

With sustainability and recycling contributing to a better environment, another eco-friendly approach is making sure inventory resources are managed efficiently. For college stores, that can mean donating excess or slow-selling inventory that might otherwise be discarded.

NAEIR, an acronym for the National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit gifts-in-kind organization based in Galesburg, Ill., that facilitates the exchange of excess inventory between companies from across the United States to more than 9,500 deserving nonprofit organizations, including schools and churches.

Donations of general college store inventory could include emblematic clothing, pens and notebooks. “We've taken textbooks in the past,” said Emily Collins, communications associate for NAEIR, while cautioning that the book side is more limited. When accepting book donations, however, NAEIR looks for books on history and other topics that are geared to younger kids.

Stores need to decide whether to mark merchandise down, how low to price it and how long to keep it for sale, she continued, adding that donation becomes an option.

• PRODUCT SHOWCASES
   Products and services of special interest to college store buyers and managers

The new ClassKeeper line of graduation gowns from Herff Jones is produced from Renew Fabric, which is recycled from post-consumer plastic bottles. With rental and recycled gowns, Herff Jones has a complete eco-friendly college graduation gown program.

Herff Jones' “Go Green” program gives colleges and universities three alternatives: ClassRental, caps and gowns that are cleaned, inspected and packaged after each use; CustomRental, an inventory of reusable gowns created and maintained specifically to enhance a single institution's branding; and ClassKeeper, regalia made from Renew fabric, which uses post-consumer plastic bottles.

Follett Higher Education Group is stepping up in-store marketing through an affiliation it began with IMG, a sports, entertainment and media company. Campus Clout, Follett Higher Education Group's affiliate marketing program, is working with IMG to expand its in-store marketing to third-party companies.

Campus Clout, Follett's affiliate marketing program, is tailored to aggressively present company brands and market to college students in over 800 Follett-managed stores.

IMG, a sports, entertainment and media company, partners with marketers and media networks to help them increase business through its event properties, media production and distribution, talent brands, sponsoring consulting, brand licensing, sponsorship sales and other services.

Zebra Pen commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with the launch of promotional program for the Lunar Ball Point Pen and the Orbitz Gel Pen. Through Dec. 31, 2009, consumers nationwide who purchase four dozen Lunar Ball Point Pens, Orbitz Gel Retractable Pens or any combination will receive a $10 Visa gift card; those who purchase six dozen receive a $20 Visa gift card.

The Lunar Ball Point Pen features a 1mm ultra smooth writing ball point with a wide plastic barrel, large comfortable grip and durable plastic pocket clip. It is available in black and blue ink and list price for a dozen is $10.80.

The Orbitz Gel Retractable Pen has a soft grip, ultra-fast drying ink, which is acid-free and archival quality. It is available in black, blue and red ink, and list price for a dozen is $12.60.

Kable Distribution Services Inc. is handling the worldwide national distribution of CurtCo Robb Media LLC. This expands Kable's newsstand relationship with the publishing company.

CurtCo Media is a developer of publishing businesses that, for more than two decades, has focused on the ultra-luxury markets with a network of leading lifestyle publications, including Robb Report.

Laptops first took computing mobile and made the Internet accessible from anywhere within range of a wireless network; now, smaller, lighter netbooks are swiftly establishing an even more portable option.

D&H Distributing recognizes netbooks as a growth opportunity and emphasized mobile computing during its annual Back-to-School show this year. “A big push this year is the notebooks and netbooks,” said Larry Staub, education division manager at D&H Distributing.

Netbooks are not as robust or powerful as laptops, but are popular with students as a second, or backup, computer that is more portable and convenient for carrying around campus to take notes in class, check e-mail and surf the Web. “They're really meant for basic computing and Internet usage,” Staub said.

Priced at between $300 and $700, a netbook is an advantage compared with carrying around a heavier and more expensive laptop, which cost $700 and up.

Netbook accessories are expanding as well; including, sleeves, bags, mobile mouses and USB hubs to expand peripheral plug-in capability, explained Jason Powell, education division supervisor at D&H. Prices for sleeves and bags start at around $14.95 compared with $50 for those designed for laptops.

This fall, netbook expansion kits are expected to become available from manufacturers. These kits are inexpensive and designed to maintain the netbook's low price point.

Netbooks are quickly catching on in campus retail, but consumers attracted by the low price could expect an inexpensive laptop and wind up being disappointed with performance capability.

Last spring, Follett first carried the small portables as a test in selected stores with computer sections. Sell-through results encouraged Follett to build on the success and expand availability this fall to all its stores selling computers.

Follett is committing to netbooks, but is skeptical about whether to consider the interest a trend or a fad, and is evaluating which add-ons to bring in. Speakers, mouses, external drives and other netbook accessories are growing areas for stores to consider.

A key consideration is that netbook buyers will expect a low-cost laptop. Follett wants high customer expectations within the limitations of netbook capability. “We want to be upfront and honest about that,” said Jon Bibo, general books and computer products, Follett Higher Education Group.

The challenge to the college store and manufacturers is to help consumers make good choices.

Higher-end netbooks in the $500 to $600 range cost about the same as a laptop, which has more capability for the price. “We kind of scratch our head a little bit in the $500 to $600 range,” Bibo said.

Netbooks fall within a category of small portables and accessories that ICBA and Connect2One consider a growth area.

ICBA works with D&H on merchandise programs, and sends e-mails to stores advising about what to look at in electronics, computers and accessories. “It's a very strong category, it's constantly changing,” said Marty Duncan, program manager, ICBA.

Smaller and lighter than a laptop, netbooks easily pack into a backpack for carrying to class and taking notes. “The big growth opportunity would be netbooks,” Duncan said.

Another small, portable that Duncan considers a good fit for student lifestyles is Pure Digital's Flip video camera. Students use the cameras to shoot video for Facebook pages.

Managing all the consumer electronics and computer equipment students plug in is easier and more environmentally friendly with a power strip that shuts down any idle peripherals. When a computer is shut down, peripherals typically are left on resulting in wasted electricity. The strip recognizes when a computer plugged into it is shut down and shuts off power to idle peripherals connected to it.

At the Back-to-School show, computer accessories from Lifeworks and the small, portable netbooks caught the attention of Paula Haerr, Connect2One associate executive director, supplies, books and store services.

Price and a purchase display make it easy to carry the category and have the brand identified in the store. Students recognize a brand better when it line is displayed. If stores display several computer bags together, students are unlikely to know one brand from another.

With netbooks, Haerr thinks the potential depends on student reaction. Most people do not require high power day in and day out, which makes the netbooks a phenomenal value. “I love the netbooks,” Haerr said.

LifeWorks licenses the popular iHome brand and is expanding it with the launch of a new line of computer peripherals, including keyboard solutions equipped with plug-in slots for iPods. IHome has a strong identity in the education channel with speakers and accessories for iPod digital media players. Seeing the college market as a natural fit, Lifeworks initially is distributing with D&H. “We have a lot of items that tie into college students,” said Aaron Zutler, sales manager Lifeworks.

A computer keyboard, the iConnect, has a plug-in slot for docking the iPhone and iPod. Another is a keyboard that laptops slide into. In this stand, the laptop screen is used as a monitor while typing from a separate keyboard and external mouse. The stand also has built-in speakers and an iPod plug-in slot.

For students to communicate visually with others, Lifeworks has My Home/Your Home, a package of two video conferencing cameras. Packaging includes paid shipping by FedEx to send one camera to someone while the student keeps the other.

Also from Lifeworks is an accessories line co-branded with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which contributes to breast cancer research.

For 2009, D&H featured 76 vendors, including six just for laptops: Acer; Asus; Hewlett-Packard, commercial and consumer; Lenovo; MSI; and Samsung. D&H also distributes Toshiba laptops, but the company did not exhibit.

College stores can sell computers without worrying about making a significant investment in inventory through a program the Douglas Stewart Company began with Dell Inc.

At its 22nd annual College Computer and Electronics Show (C2ES) this year, Douglas Stewart introduced the program with Dell plus more than 15 new merchandise lines covering a wide variety of categories, including digital pens, theft protection for computers and mobile devices, audio production software, keyboard covers and laptop bags.

C2ES, June 9 — 11 in Madison, Wisc., combined vendor exhibits, educational sessions and networking opportunities bringing its staff together with campus retailers and manufacturers.

Dell's Education Reseller Program includes benefits for education resellers, and is one of the newest programs available from The Douglas Stewart Company.

“I am very excited to help roll out the plan that The Douglas Stewart Company and Dell have put together,” said Jeremy Wood, retail sales account manager at the Dell Consumer Group.

The program includes seven Dell computer models, including the Inspiron and the Adamo. Wood describes the Inspiron as an entry-level computer with a price of $750 that is well suited to typing papers and surfing the Internet. On the other end of the price spectrum, the Adamo is $2,150 and is a sleek machine designed to compete with the MacBook Air.

Key advantages of the program are that it is open to all campus resellers and Douglas Stewart has minimized any inventory risk. Stores can order a minimum of one unit per model, and are encouraged to stock quantities consistent with demand. Ideally, Douglas Stewart suggests resellers follow a one-to-show (demonstration unit) and one-to-go formula. When the to-go unit is sold, they order another from Douglas Stewart to replace it. Inventory could be bumped at back-to-school rush, but stores are not encouraged to speculate when purchasing.

“We want you to stock a very limited quantity of each product,” said Jack Bahlman, vice president of sales and marketing at The Douglas Stewart Company. “We want the risk of excess inventory to be in our warehouse and not in your warehouse or on your floor.”

Returns are permitted, but limited to 10 percent of units the retailer purchased in the previous 30 days, not dollars. “Again, our program encourages limited inventory exposure, making the need to return products very limited,” Bahlman said.

Further, for parents investing in technology purchase, the program includes a Worry-Free Warranty bundle. The bundle, or “3-3-3 Package,” includes a three-year on-site warranty, three-year complete care covering accidental damage and a three-year LoJack theft protection agreement.

Adobe is well known for creative software used by students in creative arts and similar academic disciplines. Surprisingly, Adobe software is used across a variety of academic areas. Results of a survey conducted by Adobe show students majoring in academic disciplines, such as geography, hospitality management and chemical engineering, also use the software.

“So many students that aren't in the creative fields are actively using products like Photoshop, Illustrator and flash,” said Elaine Besh, education channel account manager, Adobe. In fact, the survey showed that 74 percent of students are using some type of graphics application. Results could be higher with greater awareness of educational discounts, which is an area where resellers can play an important role.

Adobe's survey shows that just 22 percent of students know about Adobe educational discounts, and that resellers are the No. 1 source of information about the markdowns. “We're committed to providing you with materials and the resources you need to continue to promote this program,” Besh said. As a result, Adobe has created promotional materials for back-to-school, including flyers, posters, large and small display boxes, shelf talkers, html templates, add templates and a DVD of digital files that resellers can edit and customize. All the materials are free and available at www.requestadobe.com.

“The development of the materials that we offer is based on the feedback that [resellers] have given over the years,” Besh said, adding the materials promote the value proposition that students can purchase products at up to 80 percent off the retail price.

Adobe also is revamping it licensing program and renaming it Adobe Volume Licensing, or AVL 5. More information about AVL 5 will be available in the fall.

The updated MacBook Pro line from Apple includes 13-, 15- and 17-inch models, and each is designed with a built-in battery with up to 40 percent longer life. Each MacBook also includes an LED-backlit display with greater color intensity, a Multi-Touch trackpad, an illuminated keyboard, an SD card or ExpressCard slot, a FireWire 800 port and state-of-the-art NVIDIA graphics. Apple introduced the built-in battery on the 17-inch MacBook. Prices start at $1,199.

All Microsoft Hardware, including mouses, keyboards, LifeCams, gaming devices and notebook accessories will be full compatible with Windows 7 when the operating system is launched to retail customers on Oct. 22, 2009.

Also, Microsoft Hardware will launch several new features for Windows 7 in the coming months for its peripherals, the first of which is a timesaving feature called Taskbar Favorites.

Automatic printer-sharing switches from Iogear link USB printers and other USB devices with multiple computers.

The 2-Port USB 2.0 Printer Auto Sharing Switch is compatible with personal computers and Macs, comes with two USB cables and requires no external power source. Once connected, the switch automatically recognizes which machine a print job is coming from and has LED indicators to show which computer has USB access. MSRP is $39.95.

The 4-Port USB Net ShareStation links up to four USB devices, such as external hard drives, printers and scanners, across a network. When connected to a wireless router, users can wirelessly access the connected peripherals, saving cable clutter. It is compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista, and has a MSRP of $99.95.

Iogear continues its commitment to preserve the environment with progress on its “Road to a Million Trees” campaign. Iogear plants one tree for every product purchased on its Web site or through members of its GREEN initiative partner program. In 11 months, nearly 60,000 trees were planted. Further six companies have joined Iogear's “Road to a Million Trees” campaign.

The Casio EXILIM Hi-Zoom EX-H10 has a thin, compact body, an ultra-wide angle 24mm, 10x optical zoom lens, a 12.1 megapixel image sensor and can take up to 1,000 shots on a battery charge

Casio donates a portion of the proceeds from G-Shock X Surfrider Foundation collaboration watch to the organization. The G-Shock X Surfrider watch features non-stop Tough Solar Technology, which combines a tiny solar panel with a large-capacity rechargeable battery. MSRP is $130.