CSC Update: SEPTEMBER 2023
CSC Update is a regular communication from Campus Stores Canada to keep members informed of industry updates and CSC’s current projects and initiatives.
IN THIS ISSUE:
HOT PRODUCTS SESSION - September 26
Last year’s session was a hit, so we are bringing it back! We want to know: what sold during rush? Which colours and styles were top sellers? Which trends are you seeing on campus? Join us on September 26th at 12pm ET for a show and tell with others across the country so we can experience what hipness is. Grab your hot product, join the call, and get ready to see what is in with the kids these days.
would you like to know more?
Do you have questions for other buyers? Don’t know who to as if someone has information about a vender? Do you have a particular item you are trying to track down? The General Merchandise email (merch@campusstores.ca) is open to any CSC member to pose questions and for others to help point you in the right direction. You can use Member Spave from your regular email address to start the discussion.
If you have other things you would like to discuss in our calls, CSC, or other things in general please reach out to Greg McPherson. If you are having difficulty joining the call please reach out to google@campusstores.ca.
Membership rENEWALS
Membership renewal invoices are coming soon to our primary store contacts. In addition, we wanted to make sure that you have access to all things CSC. Throughout the end of September and early October Steve Thomas (google@campusstores.ca) and I will be working with you to make sure that Member Space is a more valuable tool for all of you to communicate with one another. We’re running quick 15-20 minute sessions for store members throughout October. If you aren’t getting the seminar through your institution you can always join one of the public sessions on October 12, 18, or 24.
Thursday, October 12
Wednesday, October 18
Tuesday, October 24
Monthly CSC Sessions
Together we’re holding monthly sessions on topics that are top of mind for members. This year started already with the Pre-Rush session - you can see the recap below. Up next on September 26th at 12pm ET we have the Hot Product session - see above. You will also be getting invites to the upcoming sessions. Please understand that session dates, times, and topics might change.
The New Rates
All of the above content is just the beginning. There is a lot more we are planning to do together this year. We want to bring you more expert opinion, better means of interacting, and more useful information. As a part of that we’ve also increased the membership rates and made some new categories for 2023-2024.
| 2023-2024 Cost | FTE (undergraduate & graduate) | |
|---|---|---|
| X-Small | $400 | 0-2,500 |
| Small | $500 | 2,501-5,000 |
| Medium | $700 | 5,001-10,000 |
| Large | $850 | 10,001-20,000 |
| X-Large | $950 | 20,001+ |
Flexibility
This year we’re offering you even more flexibility with your membership. Add your conference registration into your membership and we’ll bill you all at once. When you get your membership renewal reminder from me, just send me back an email with any additional conference registrations you need added!
Pre-Rush Meeting - August 24, 2023
We held an open discussion to exchange summer projects, share successes, and ask questions about the upcoming Fall rush. We welcome all members of CSC to participate in these online sessions. If you’re unable to join this meeting you can catch up with the recording below:
The discussion starts with an introduction to CSC, the board of directors, and the staff. Greg also provides an overview of the year ahead, which you can see in the above “Member Renewal” section.
Topics of discussion:
Delivery Locker RFP
Madeleine Miller of Conestoga College is currently drafting a Request for Proposal (RFP) for delivery lockers for the bookstore and institution in general. Her institution’s program is looking for a single “head” unit that takes care of all the smarts, as well as some satellite units to be placed around the campus. These lockers are meant to tie into the bookstore’s delivery methods allowing users to purchase items from a variety of campus services and getting them dropped into the lockers for later pickup.
While in discussion of sharing the RFP, Shannon Blackadder of the University of Calgary inquired if there is a way to provide all member stores with the results of the RFP process. This sort of thing is available provincially in Alberta, but a national program would allow all of CSC to benefit from each others work while drafting RFPs. You can see the discussion starting at 26:29 in the video.
YRC Ceases Operations
Stephanie Livingstone reported that Yellow / YRC Freight has ceased operations. Western University will be swapping to Day & Ross for their American shipping.
material Distribution
Shannon Blackadder started this topic asking if other stores are implementing CEI’s First Day Advantage program. The program is meant to offer all students 14-day digital access to all their Campus eBookstore distributed materials, though there is reportedly little publisher buy-in. The conversation then turned to distribution of links to professors through the LMS and what the product mix around digital materials and physical materials is looking like for the year ahead. Lotta Lindblom of the University of Toronto also offered access to her institution’s IT policy to get links to the bookstore into the LMS.
The full discussion starts at 33:30.
All Used Up?
A lot of us are interested in what the future of used books is going to look like with MBS/Barnes and Noble Education exiting the used book market. Imelda May of Capilano University was most interested in everyone’s tactics for buy back. Sean Bell reported that the University of Lethbridge had suspended buy back programs. Lisa Parker of Selkirk College and Natalie Cox of Ambrose University are both marking books at time of purchase to let students know that the bookstore is going to be buying back specific books. LuAnne Kelly of the Memorial University of Newfoundland asked about the logistics of buy back wondering how stores are operating buy back with the campus stakeholders, how the buyback lists are agreed to, and what generally goes into the preparation for an independent buy back. There were lots of creative answers in the call. This section starts at 40:32 into the video.
Foot Traffic
How has foot traffic been with hybrid campus operations? Kathy Wood of KPU is wondering what you are seeing in your stores and how all of us are incentivizing people to return to retail. We discussed discounts, targeted advertising on social media, blanket discounts for staff and a whole lot more in this session. Discussion starts at 52:52.
PenguinPickup
Lotta Lindblom talked about how the University of Toronto is working with PenguinPickUp to deliver more than just bookstore essentials to her campus. The service is mostly located in Canada’s three largest cities (Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver) though it presents the interesting opportunity of being a delivery and distribution hub for other nearby retailers. You can hear a better description in the video.
PRISM CUSTOMER SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS
Since Harris Computer acquired PrismRBS members from across Canada are reporting significant improvements to customer service attitude and follow through with their systems. Kathy Wood of KPU reported that she was offered a refund by Harris and returned to her previous implementation of Prism with excellent customer care.
Selling Digital Sign Space
Shane Gopaulsingh is looking for a digital signage marketing partner to see sign space inside of the UBC bookstore. If you know of anyone, please reach out to him!
Member and Industry News
This section of our CSC Update is a place where we can share your news. Share with us information including who is retiring from your store, who is new to your store, what is happening in the industry, share an interesting article you think other members should see. Please email greg@campusstores.ca information you would like highlighted in our next CSC Update.
News for this month!
Hiring Updates
Congratulations to Shane Gopaulsingh who joined UBC Bookstore as Store Manager - Vancouver Campus.
Recent Posts in Member Space
Sam Willis and Sandy Nemeth discussed Herschel Backpacks. Is anyone doing customization?
Ben Lee is wondering if anyone is working with PACKT Publishing? If you are reach out!
Announcements
Back to school is unfortunately back to fraud for some. Be on the lookout for emails from suspicious emails and never click on anything unless you are sure. There have been reports from the members about fraudulent emails circulating and there is no way to “un-click” that link.
Executive Director’s Report
NOMINATIONS OPEN IN SEPTEMBER
CSC is opening nominations for the Board of Directors in September. This year, there are 6 positions up for election. Joining the Board places you at the leadership of the Canadian campus retail industry. It gives you the ability to help mold the direction for CSC and all its members. If you’re interested in joining the Board of Directors, you can get in contact with me.
Website/Member Space UPDATES AND TESTING
Work is underway on both the CSC website and Member Space. As the industry continues to change we want to make sure that you are better informed, can reach out to your peers, and can get support more easily. With that in mind CSC is looking at the role of Member Space and how it could be best used, or if we need it at all. At the same, time initial design work is underway for a refreshed CSC website. If you have strong opinions, thoughts on tools, or any other ideas about how we can improve the process of getting critical information to you, please feel free to reach out!
Happy to Help!
If you have any questions, need support, or are interested in becoming more involved with CSC, you can email me at greg@campusstores.ca or call me at 1 (888) 288-4044.