The Campus Store will undergo renovations to the clothing section, eFollett book pickup and registers, according to Store Manager Kristi Cole.
Follett plans to make “general upgrades” as part of their contract, completely financed by the company.
Follett Higher Education Group, which runs eFollett online bookstores nationwide, has been contracted with AU for over 10 years and pays commissions back to the University, according to David Courter, director of Auxiliary Services.
The plans include expanding the selling floor for clothing, creating a permanent space for Web orders and moving the registers so customers can move throughout the store more easily, Cole said.
Currently, the store wants to move registers to what is now the children’s clothing area in the front of the store.
“The extra filling space will be great,” Cole said. “We can spread the clothing section out a little more and create a better shopping area.”
Cole said fall is the busiest time for the store, so revamping the area would likely be worked around that time frame. It has not been determined when the renovations will be done, but Cole said that it is “usually done in sections,” so the store will remain open throughout construction.
“It would promote a negative image if customers have to deal with construction and delays,” she said.
While no money will come from AU’s budget to finance the renovations, AU will still play a role in the redesign process, Cole said. No concrete plans have been created and the actual cost of the renovations is not known yet.
“During the time when they’re developing the plan, we have meetings and discussions about what they want to achieve,” Courter said. “We’re the landlord. It’s still our building.”
Currently, about 50 percent of textbook sales are done online, so one of the store’s biggest gains will be the eFollett space, according to Cole.
kfroehlich@theeagleonline.com
