Speed Me to
St. Louis
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (APRIL 2003)
Notebooks,
diploma frames, backpacks, golf clubs, wine corks, garbage
cans, and enough imprinted caps to spare every head
at the Super Bowl from sunstroke were ferociously displayed
at the National Association of College Stores
annual CAMEX college retail merchandising show
in St. Louis, on March 7-10. The nonstop merch madness
was rivaled, one must have thought, only by the “holy
hardware” dominating the Christian Booksellers Association
show. And who can blame ’em? College stores doubled
their market share between 1990 and 2000, NACS reported,
raking in more than $10.68 billion in 2002.
Attendance of over 7,000 was up significantly from last
year’s event, where turnout was dampened in the aftermath
of 9/11, though it may be obvious by now that the booksellers’
row at this mega-convention is dwarfed by the incidental
merchandise vendors who capture most of the floor space
and all of the glitz. Major publishing houses peered
out from tiny booths, while the largest book presence
was to be found in the booth displaying the prowess
of MBS, the nation’s largest used-textbook wholesaler,
which also operates many of the college stores’ point-of-sales
systems. (MBS, which is 75% owned by Len Riggio,
reports that textbooks average 60 – 70% of most college
bookstores’ total sales.) Their biggest competition,
Follett’s, was also present, but boasted slightly
less expansive digs.
Let it be noted that the scariest trend, but one which
might help out at BEA as show days wear on, was
the presence of every imaginable caffeinated item: Jolt
Gum, Penguin Caffeinated mints, “ephedra free”
(which one convention-goer mistook as Free Ephedra!),
spiked chocolate bars, and energy drinks galore. Starbucks,
evidently, is over-priced for the student market.
We
thank Robert Riger, Associate Publisher of SparkNotes,
for his contribution to this report.
©2003
Publishing Trends
