College Stores Receive Awards: Best Practices and Top Performers

Independent College Bookstore Association recognizes 2012 - 2013 Best Practices and Top Performers Awards among College Bookstores

ASHLAND, OREGON (April 1, 2014) – On Thursday, February 6, 2014, at the ICBA 2014 Retail Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, Pat McGowan from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, presented the 2012-2013 Best Practices and Top Performer Awards to seven Independent College Bookstore Association (ICBA) member stores.

“The ICBA operating survey is extremely valuable to our company. We use it to benchmark our results against peer stores and to see trends in our industry. It is another great benefit of being an ICBA member.” says Pat McGowan, Director of University Book Store at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. 

Of the 78 stores that participated in the 2012-2013 Operating Survey, 42 stores were eligible to be recognized for their outstanding performance. Criteria for this year’s ICBA Best Practice and Top Performance Awards are:

• ICBA Operating Survey participant in each of the last five years (42 stores in contention)
• Achieved top performances or best practices demonstrating successful execution of business strategies from 2008 to 2013.
• Award categories determined based on review of the 2012-2013 results (not pre-determined.
• Emphasis on more challenging areas of the college store business.
• Performance was influenced by internal leadership, strategy development and execution

The ICBA membership congratulates, recognizes and gives many thanks to the following stores for their outstanding performance and best practices. Each of these stores demonstrates exemplary leadership within the college retail industry by establishing and executing successful business strategies from 2008 and into 2013.

The MVP Award for Overall Outstanding Performance 

MSU Bookstore, Inc.
Montana State University

• Increased overall sales by 20%
• Increase net income by 278%
• Improvement across all categories in margin generation
• 50% increase in Net Worth over 5 years

           

Excellence in Course Materials Management

University Book Stores
University of Missouri

• Increased overall sales by 17%
• Custom Published total of $900,000
• Rental totaling more than $3,000,000
• Forefront of much of what is new in this area

                                                                                           

Excellence in Course Materials Management

Wildcat Shop

Central Washington University

• Increased overall sales by 14%
• Very aggressive in price matching
• Maintained margin in excess of 20%

                                                                                           

Excellence in General Books Management 

Boise State University Bookstore
Boise State University

• Increased general book sales by 17%
• Increased inventory turnover 29%
• One of few stores with an increase in this category

          

Excellence in Technology Product Management 

Olympic College Bookstore

Olympic College

• Increased technology product sales by 255%
• Gross margin sustained above 16% with large sales growth
• Increased inventory turns to 5.7   

Excellence in Student Supplies Management

BYU-Idaho University Store

BYU Idaho

• Increased student supply sales 26%
• Inventory turnover consistently at 3.5 turns
• Maintained margin close to 40%

Outstanding Insignia Product Performance

The University of Arizona BookStores
University of Arizona

• Increased insignia product sales 55%
• Inventory turnover increased 156% to 3.7 turns
• Maintained margin in excess of 53%

To participate in the ICBA Operating Survey, stores must be an ICBA Member. To learn more about the Independent College Bookstore Association and the ICBA Operating Survey, please contact Sadja Pals, ICBA Marketing and Membership Manager, at Sadja@ICBAinc.com or 800.618.0530.

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Since its inception in 1927, Independent College Bookstore Association (ICBA) continues to be the only professional cooperative dedicated exclusively to institutional collegiate retail stores. ICBA provides the opportunity for owners and decision makers committed to putting their schools and students first and to openly and enthusiastically share operational improvements. ICBA does this by providing exceptional programs and services including buying programs, professional development and innovative solutions. 

The mission of ICBA is to provide the programs and services that will establish the institutional store model as the preferred management solution for higher education.