The Menlo Campus Store entered a new era over the summer as it moved its location from next to the tech office to a kiosk in the gym lobby after the retirement of its manager Joan Iwamoto. The store will now rely more heavily on a group of parent volunteers to staff the store, but Chief Financial Officer Bill Silver noted that his office plans on hiring someone to manage the store’s financial logistics on a macro level.
According to Silver, the store’s new online partnership with BSN Sports is a step up from the school’s self-run online store. Silver was particularly excited about his new Menlo-branded raincoat he had bought from the online store. “They can basically take any of the shirts [and other apparel and accessories] that they sell and customize them with a Menlo logo,” Silver said. “So we just have a much bigger inventory of products than we did before.”
Beyond the new inventory, the store now boasts a cashless payment system and a new look, similar to kiosks found in professional sports stadiums. “We wanted it to be good-looking,” Silver said.
While the kiosk’s opening date is yet to be determined, Silver said the store would be open at fixed times during the school day and during big sports events in the gym. For events at Cartan Field, the store plans to continue selling merchandise at fold-up tables.
After Iwamoto’s retirement, Silver called nearby schools to glean best practices on operating a campus store, and he found that all the schools he called used parent volunteers to staff their in-person locations. Silver said he hopes that more parents volunteer to do this at Menlo, and recalled how, at his daughter’s high school, parents would have to compete for volunteer slots at their store.
Silver noted that the school doesn’t profit off the store. In fact, the store didn’t even bring enough revenue in previous years to cover Iwamoto’s salary, especially as it moved from its focus on selling textbooks to branded merchandise. “The goal has been to make things available that students need and to promote Menlo spirit with logo wear,” Silver said.
Parents who volunteer at the kiosk will be led by lead parent volunteer Jason Moceri and need to complete a background check per California law. Prospective volunteers should contact Linda Bertetta, the school’s director of finance, for more information.
