The Lope Shop embarked on the “summer of change” that should give students, parents and customers easier avenues to navigate as they search for the latest merchandise with several themes.
Many clothing racks have been removed, and some have been replaced by small tables displaying apparel, planners and other gadgets. The diminutive tables still hold plenty of folded clothing while enabling customers to check the attire and still move throughout the shop without the congestion that was prevalent during Welcome Week, the first week of classes and holiday sales.
The long back wall of Lope Shop now features shelves and, in some cases, television stands, now containing apparel in neatly folded sections.
For Taylor Swift fans, there is an “In My Lopes Era” section in the center portion of the back wall, featuring lanyards and coffee mugs.
And there is a big perk for parents who might be feeling fatigued from moving their children’s belongings into their dorm rooms and attending orientation sessions.
A few small couches are placed throughout the store, but space is limited.
“We should take pride in every person who comes into the Lope Shop and give the customers a new and exciting experience every time they come into the store,” said Lope Shop operations manager Garrett Miller while surveying the changes throughout the store.
Customers accustomed to a specific section for apparel will find it throughout the store.
The supplies section, once located at the west end of the store, has been moved to a wall on the southeast side without a reduction in merchandise.
“This all started from the flow of the store,” Miller said. “It didn’t come from anything else.”
There is somewhat of a small store feel in some sections of Lope Shop. But that is by design, based on a trip that visual merchandiser Ella Miller took to Whidbey Island, Washington, earlier this summer.
“I went to these boutique stores and liked seeing all this cross merchandising and especially the tables,” Ella Miller said. “How they just brought in all these random things, but made it look appealing to the eye.”
She shared her observations with Shelly Schrimpf, assistant director of campus retail and licensing, Lope Shop Assistant Operations Manager Layna Watts, and Garrett Miller.
They aimed to give the store a homey feel, starting with the couches. Reserving a portion of the wall for the supplies opened up more for customers, especially those who live outside the Valley.
“In Welcome Week, restocking is probably the biggest thing that visual merchandisers stress about,” Ella Miller said. “There is about 1,000 people in the store, right? So there’s a lot of stress.
“So I think that this is going to be a really good flow for Welcome Week and for the moms and the parents that will know where everything is.”
One the themes for Lope Shop officials is cross merchandising, in which an item could be in more than one place. A feminine key chain could be located with the other key chains as well as in the In My Lopes Era section, Ella Miller said. Ditto for pens in the supply wall and the In My Lopes Era display.
New additions include a team-themed section, according to the season. Customers can now pick up merchandise for the fall sports (men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s tennis and volleyball).
A merchandising newcomer, Image One, will provide Christian clothing for the first time at GCU, Garrett Miller said.
There’s now an instrument supplies section for members of the Thundering Heard Pep Band and Worship Arts and other musical students.
An Ink’d greeting cards machine, located next to the In My Lopes Era display, is expected to be operating by Welcome Week. And a fortified hat stand should be well stocked at the same time.
If you’re looking for attire with the old GCU logo, it might be best to check the Lope Shop’s website. Schrimpf wisely scaled back once the new logo was unveiled in the spring of 2023, and last April’s sale cleared out nearly all merchandise with the old logo.
The anticipation at the Lope Shop for Welcome Week, which runs Aug. 26-31, is much different than last year, with more merchandise with the new logo and lavender attire imminent.
“It’s a new era,” Garrett Miller said. “Lopes Era.”
GCU News Senior Writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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