A Study in Sales Merchandise

Best-Sellers at College Stores

Tie-dye, crop tops and loungewear are proving to be durable trends for a second season at college bookstores around the country.

“In general, this past year we saw a lot more relaxed styles,” said Kassidy Conway, Apparel Manager at the Oklahoma State University bookstore in Stillwell. “We’ve sold a lot of loungewear — sweatpants, sweatshirts, hats.”

The same is true at the Colorado State University Bookstore in Fort Collins, where Merchandise Buyer Amy Lawton is selling more sweats than usual. “People are working from home more, and we’re still seeing that trend,” she said. With society opening up over this past spring and summer, “I would have imagined it would shift a little bit, but athleisure is still a thing.”

Given the lingering uncertainty over how the pandemic will affect campus life and fashion trends, Lawton said this is not the year to experiment. “We’re going with our tried and true this year, focusing a lot on just basics,” she explained.

At the Oklahoma State University bookstore, Champion remains a popular brand, while crop tops and tie-dye are selling briskly for the second year in a row. “I think we would have sold even more if people had been on campus,” reflected Conway.

Oklahoma State will return to a regular schedule this fall, and the bookstore is ready with trends like oversized, boxy tops for women. When ordering new items, Conway is more willing to take a chance on known brands like Gameday Couture, “which is

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A Study in Sales (From page 156) cutting-edge on design and has done well for us,” she noted. “Price point is a big factor for something we haven’t tested. We’ll try things at a more moderate price point before we risk that higher end option.”

Buyers for the Shocker Stores at Wichita State University research trends across different schools and brands, getting a feel for the next season’s fashions. “We look at what’s coming into style, as well as what’s sold well for us in the past,” said Manager Aaron Fink . Shocker Stores strike a balance between novelty and classics, he explained: “We want to keep our brand as clearly defined as possible.”

Tie dye, crop and tank tops continue to sell briskly in a wide variety of styles and colors, said Fink. In particular, the Uscape line of apparel is a favorite for its skyline graphics printed on tees, sweats.

Brand-name loungewear was never a huge category for the Palmer College of Chiropractic Bookstore in Davenport, Iowa. Apparel Buyer Loreen Frazier observed that Palmer’s Iowa students are on a budget that doesn’t allow for pricey sweats; the school’s Florida campus, in contrast, does well with status brands. But there are exceptions. Champion T-shirts are popular in Davenport, along with trekker hats and some Nike and Adidas items. “We just always have to be careful with our price point,” explained Frazier. “For example, I’ve been looking for nice girls’ leggings that are not $50, and that’s hard to find.”

Earthy colors like olive and yellow have sold well this year. “I’ll go visit other stores to see what colors are in style,” said Frazier. With students

What’s Your Best-Selling Gift Item?

Name dropped drinkware — water bottles, mugs and glasses — is a popular gift at many bookstores. “People like them because they travel well,” explained Manager Aaron Fink, of the Shocker Store at Wichita State University. “If kids are flying home from campus, or parents are visiting, mugs and bottles are easy to pack and take along. We also have a lot of out of state teams who come for games and collect them from campuses they visit.”

Many beverage items are branded for moms, dads or alumni, making them ideal gifts.

Coffee mugs and water bottles “are a top item for us,” said Amy

Lawton, merchandise buyer at the Colorado State University Bookstore in Fort Collins. And travel mugs remain a favorite at Alvin Community College in Alvin, Texas. “It surprises me because people aren’t traveling much,” noted College Store Manager Vicki Marvel.

At Palmer College of Chiropractic Bookstore in Davenport, Iowa, “it seems like everyone who comes in once a water bottle or a blender bottle,” observed Loreen Frazier, the bookstore’s apparel buyer. (A blender bottle, for those who don’t know, shakes together protein drinks for the gym-bound).

Water bottles are popular at the Oklahoma State University bookstore in Stilwell. But mugs didn’t sell as well this year, since the pandemic cancelled the football games that typically drew mugs’ target audience — alumni. New students at summer orientation “are heavy into stickers and decals for laptops and bottles,” said Apparel Manager Kassidy Conway in July. “It’s an easy add-on when they’re visiting.” With sales and foot traffic up, there’s only one item Conway hopes to sell less of this school year: “Masks,” she said with a laugh. “I really, really hope we’ll be past that.” ❖ back on campus as of July, “we’ll look into whatever the students ask about; they give us suggestions about new items.”

Many bookstores are sticking to basics during a year of transition. They include the College Store Alvin Community College in Alvin, Texas, which has un- dergone a lengthy pandemic renovation. “We’re not ordering a lot because we don’t have the selling floor right now,” explained Manager Vicki Marvel . One exception: tie-dye apparel, which Marvel said she re- orders constantly.

With limited space, The College Store has benefited from a decision with fellow members of the Southwest College Bookstore Association to print shirts in-house as needed, rather than having to order large minimum quantities. “It’s cheaper for the students, and we don’t have to have a large inventory,” Marvel explained. ❖