ASU’s journalism school opened an online store Aug. 17 that contains merchandise designed specifically for students and alumni of the school.
The online store currently has a variety of items, including men and women’s clothing, school supplies and golf bags—each item branded with a Cronkite School logo.
Cronkite Student Life Coordinator Becca Kleinberg, a member of the team that helped make the store a reality, said the online store was started because of student response to other online stores at ASU.
The journalism school joins other ASU programs like the business school and the teacher’s college that have online stores with merchandise for their students.
Student feedback has been very positive, Kleinberg said of the journalism store, and the store has had a very successful first week of operations.
“We’ve already got a bunch of orders in less than a week,” Kleinberg said. “People are definitely excited about it.”
Though Kleinberg and others from the journalism school directly assisted in picking out the store’s items, operations are run by BC Graphics, a Tempe-based design firm.
BC Graphics account executive Jeff Hoffman, who is in charge of the operations of all of the ASU programs’ stores, said the stores stand up well against other BC Graphics clients, which range from other universities to international business firms.
“ASU students seem more interested in representing the brand,” Hoffman said.
Though exact numbers were not readily available, Hoffman indicated that immediate sales have been promising.
“The numbers are right on pace,” Hoffman said.
In spite of the prospect of high sales, Kleinberg noted that the online store is much less interested in making a large profit, but is focused much more on increasing recognition of the school and to further a sense of community between students.
“The store is less about revenue and more about putting our name out there and building a sense of community among students, families and alumni,” Kleinberg said in an e-mail. “We actually don't expect to make money on it.”
The business school’s online store is focused on more than money as well.
“It’s really more about school pride and school spirit,” said Becky Johnson, marketing coordinator for the business school.
Despite the immediate positive feedback, Kleinberg made it clear that the merchandise on the website will be exclusive to the Web, and will not appear in the Downtown campus bookstore or any other physical ASU bookstore.
“There will not be a physical store,” Kleinberg said. “It is entirely online.”
Online stores are preferred because of the low operation costs, said Robert Meyers, assistant director of ASU Bookstores.
“[The University] would have to find some space for [a new store], and I’m sure they’re not willing to give up any, either office space or classrooms.”
Reach the reporter at michael.reppenhagen@asu.edu
