Musts for Michigan students: squirt guns, surgical gloves

Drug Store News, Jan 22, 1990 by Christine Bizzarro

Musts for Michigan students: squirt guns, surgical gloves

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Within five miles of here, more than 48,000 students will awaken this morning to face another college day.

Before heading for classes, students at both the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and Eastern Michigan University, in neighboring Ypsilanti, may need to pick up some items at the local drug store - looseleaf paper, toothpaste, or a pair of surgical gloves for their dissection lab this afternoon.

A pair of surgical gloves? While this may not be a "typical" drug store item among college students, Richardson's Super Drugs, located 1/2-mile from Eastern Michigan U, sells these gloves by the handful.

Leonard Calabrese, manager of this store and director of pharmacy for the five-store chain based in Ann Arbor, told Drug Store News he gives credit for stocking surgical gloves to his part-time employees, who are also full-time college students.

"I listen to their input," Calabrese said, who also started selling exam blue books when his student employees suggested it.

This 8,000-square-foot store doubled its size in 1986, and has since expanded some sections, including hardware tools, bathroom and electrical supplies to satisfy student fix-up needs.

"We now carry a complete line of party goods, including beer, wine, liquor and ice," Calabrese added.

Operating in the same location for over 25 years, Richardson's advertises in the school newspaper, the Eastern Echo, twice a year.

"We run an institutional ad with coupons, and we try [in the ad] to tell students we are their drug store away from home," Calabrese said.

Perry Drugs is just a smile-and-a-half from Eastern, and is managed full-time by Jon Nankervis, a part-time Eastern student. Nankervis said close to 50 percent of his business comes from the students. "Most of our action comes from the school and office supply category," he said, with cosmetics and paper products also big sellers.

"Non-traditional" items that college students buy at Perry are squirt guns, balloons (which they fill with water) and Silly String, Nankervis said.

Nankervis has distributed flyers on campus with coupons on them toward paper products, like toilet paper. He plans to start a monthly flyer distribution program this year.

About three miles away, in Ann Arbor, The Village Apothecary uses the school newspaper to advertise, but in a different way.

Fred Kreye, owner and pharmacist of this 30-year-old independent store, places his ads in the personal section of the Michigan Daily, the University of Michigan's school newspaper, everyday. (See examples in box) "We use humor and feel they [the ads] are effective in getting the kids into the store," Kreye said.

Kreye said about 80 percent of his customers are students. Since his 2,000-square-foot store is located 100 feet from the University of Michigan campus, last year he installed two "pop" coolers and a Coke machine, along with a candy section. Kreye said the section has brought more traffic.

And, Kreye has made some loyal customers among students, especially when they come in looking for a certain product they've become brand loyal to in their hometown. Kreye said he tries his best to special order what he normally doesn't carry.

Richardson's, across the street from the University of Michigan campus, also sells items that other stores in this chain do not. At 1,200-square-feet, even though it's the smallest store out of five, it tailors its mix to U of M college students, said Judy Bewley, merchandiser.

"Everyone is always looking for plastics," Bewley said, referring to crates, baskets, and anything else that students can use to organize their dorms.

Small electronics are a hot category. "We sell color TV sets, Sony alarm clocks and walkmans, and phones," she said, and tries to keep price points for these items low. Telephone and extensions cords are big sellers.

"An electrical system that converts two plugs to three plugs may be an insignificant item in a typical drug store, but here this is valuable because it's what the students are looking for," Bewley said.

Even though the most of the drug stores in the area face prescription competition from the student health centers, Beweley at Richardson's can be assured that U of M students will shop her store. She said freshman students at the university are all required to live in the dorms, so even if these students decide to reside in off-campus housing in their sophomore and junior year, there is still a guarenteed new group of customers to shop at Richardson's in September.

PHOTO : Most store managers who operate in college towns make the most of up-front displays-like Revco Discount Drugs in Athens, Ga., which merchandises trial sizes and magazines near the checkout.

PHOTO : University of Georgia students shopping at Hodgson's check the "season's scoreboard" posted on the wall, which shows caricatures and the scores of Bulldog games.

PHOTO : Mount Holyoke College students choose greeting cards at Price Watch branch store, which sells bus tickets as well as H&BA, OTC items and general merchandise.