By: Victoria Tudisco
Feb. 18th, 2023
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
Hello Zarb Students! The Zarb School of Business hopes you are having a great Spring semester so far at Hofstra University.
Zarb students and faculty members have a question for you–how strong is your Zarb pride? Would you enjoy purchasing merchandise with the Zarb name on it?
Zarb School of Business is proud to introduce a new retail store featuring Zarb branded merchandise, The Zarb Store! For the first time, students will be able to represent both Hofstra and the Zarb School of Business with these stylish pieces!
Intern McKenna Osborne modeling her favorite Zarb Garb
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
Students probably have many questions about the new Zarb School of Business retail store, so here are some answers:
- A super exciting fact about The Zarb Store is that it is a student run business at Hofstra University. Students are trying their best to create merchandise that they know other Zarb School of Business students at Hofstra University will love, hoping to show off that Zarb Means Business!
- The Zarb Store’s grand opening is planned for this semester, Spring 2023! So if you keep passing the store and wondering when it will open, you don’t have to worry about waiting too much longer to own your very own Zarb Garb.
- Are you interested in getting involved with The Zarb Store? It’s easy to do so! Just contact Professor Cafarelli to discuss details @Claudia.A.Cafarelli@hofstra.edu.
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
The Zarb Store interns have created fun and unique merchandise items for students and faculty members to choose from. There is merchandise available for all members of the family–there are coffee mugs for Mom and Dad, plush toys for siblings, food bowls for dogs, and of course merchandise specific for Hofstra’s Zarb School of Business students! And as the store gains more traction, students and faculty members should expect to see even more fun and creative merchandise items to pop up in The Zarb Store.
Working Over January Break
In order to open in Spring 2023, there was a lot of work that needed to get done in the month of January. Working in the store over January break was an important way to truly kickstart The Zarb Store. Inaugural Director Claudia Cafarelli and Inaugural Communications Director Victoria Tudisco came in two separate days to help bring in merchandise, break down shipment, and set up the store.
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
Victoria is the Inaugural Communications Director for The Zarb Store. Along with helping set up The Zarb Store over January break, some of her responsibilities include documenting The Zarb Store progress, taking pictures and videos, editing pictures and videos, writing news pieces, managing a communications team, developing relationships with Hofstra Media outlets, and heading the Grand Opening campaign.
The Zarb Store Environment
Creating a warm, welcoming environment is essential to The Zarb Store. There will be music playing in the store, a table for students and working interns to sit at, and conversations flowing at all times. The Zarb Store interns are hoping to create a hang out space for students to come and chat with each other–and of course buy merchandise!
Merchandising The Zarb Store
Many hours were spent merchandising The Zarb Store. Clothing is what especially took a long time to complete. Each clothing item on display needed to be organized by style, size, and color. Then, the pieces needed to be folded and neatly displayed on the shelves. This is essential as The Zarb Store wants to create a clean and organized look inside the store. Other merchandise pieces such as hats, mugs, toys, car decals and more have been displayed on shelves and walls in the store.
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
During the set up days in January, Victoria and Professor Cafarelli had many Hofstra University faculty members stop by The Zarb Store. These visitors were over the moon excited for the retail store to open. They were impressed by how the store looked and how much merchandise the store already has ready to be sold to fellow faculty members and students in the Zarb School of Business. The validation from these faculty members truly shows just how incredible The Zarb Store already is!
Both Victoria and Professor Cafarelli felt it was necessary to take pictures of The Zarb Store’s progress to show just how much hard work has been put into the set up. These pictures show boxes sprawled out on the floor, unfolded shirts waiting to be displayed, piled up plush toys begging to be released, and more. Starting with a blank canvas and developing an entire store is not easy, but it truly shows just how excited The Zarb Store interns are for Zarb School of Business students and faculty members to finally have their own retail store!
Window displays are crucial in marketing a store, and The Zarb Store is no exception. Display shelves for the front of the store were neatly and strategically organized so students and faculty members walking past can look in and see what The Zarb Store will be selling. On display are hats, mugs, car decals, stress toys, plush toys, dog bowls, dog scarves, and a few of the clothing items that will be sold once The Zarb Store opens for business. Displaying the items for all to see can help build and keep excitement high for the store’s grand opening.
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
Also, the store has a four legged friend named Frank who models all the pet friendly Zarb Garb! Frank definitely helps The Zarb Store get attention as he sits in the window. Many students and faculty members stop by to express the love they have for Frank already–and who can blame them, isn’t he the cutest?
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
There are many different clothing items to choose from in The Zarb Store to fit your personal aesthetic. The store has short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, and crewnecks as some basic essentials. There are also windbreakers, a three quarter zip-up, and a collared long sleeve shirt to add a bit more style. For hat lovers, a brand new Zarb School of Business baseball cap is available. Some clothing items come in gray, some come in the iconic Hofstra blue, and others come in both. For most items, sizes range from small to 3XL. The collared shirt comes in both men’s and women’s fits, depending on your preference. And of course, there are more styles to come–so there truly is something for everyone to love!
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
As the Spring Semester continues on, The Zarb Store will be receiving even more designs in shipment to sell. Once it comes in, interns will be more than happy to display the merchandise for all to see. Some items include hoodies, women’s v-neck t-shirts, and more–so be excited and prepared to see new designs in the window!
Behind the Scenes Work
While there was much merchandising and organizing to do inside the store, it did not stop there. Organizing the stockroom was an important part of the process. All of the boxes had to be labeled very specifically to differentiate items by style, color, size, and quantity. Categorizing items like this allows staff members to easily find inventory once the store opens and merchandise begins to sell. Rather than having to rummage through hundreds of merchandise items during a busy day, The Zarb Store will be organized.
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
Additionally, it is crucial to make sure all items have been sent to the store correctly. This includes making sure that the store is sent the correct number of items in shipment, no items are damaged in the shipping process, and the colors and designs are correct. If any items are sent incorrectly, damaged, or unsellable for any reason, it is important to contact the merchandise company to fix the problem. Being organized is an essential part of creating a successful store, so separating merchandise, taking count of every inventory item, and making sure all items arrive correctly and not damaged is important.
While much of the back stock is held in a separate storage room, some items lay on top of a high shelf inside The Zarb Store. This includes extra plush toys, stress toys, hats, dog bowls, and dog scarves. Having extra merchandise inside the store allows working interns to have easy access to restock shelves once the store opens rather than having to constantly travel back and forth to the stockroom.
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
The Zarb Store Interns
Once the semester started, Professor Cafarelli took time to meet with and interview many potential interns for The Zarb Store. There were many students interested in both leadership and sales associate internship roles for the on-campus position. These interns are not only going to work extremely hard in all the behind the scenes work that goes into creating The Zarb Store, but they are also going to do their best to help build excitement for its grand opening! The Zarb Store would truly be nothing without its Zarb School of Business interns.
Marketing for The Zarb Store
Marketing is an essential part of promoting Hofstra’s Zarb School of Business store. Victoria made a video edit of the store’s progress, showing off the fun merchandise The Zarb Store will be selling. This video also included music from Hofstra’s Unispan Records artist Weird America–check out their website www.weirdamericaband.com and their newest single, ‘Tuesday’! Posting this video on social media will aid in student excitement for its grand opening as students and faculty will be able to see the inside of The Zarb Store. Eventually, this video will also be playing on loop on the television in The Zarb Store to give students and faculty members an insight on how far the store has come along.
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
#ZARBmeansbusiness
All of the merchandise sold at The Zarb Store will have the newly coined phrase “Zarb Means Business” on them. This phrase is one that The Zarb Store staff members decided would be a great way to represent Hofstra’s Zarb School of Business. Some items have the phrase simply placed on it, others have cool and funky ways to read the phrase (thank you, University of Relations!), and a few even have #ZARBmeansbusiness on them! The fun play on words is truly an accurate depiction of Hofstra’s Zarb School of Business–Zarb students and faculty really mean business!
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
We hope fellow Zarb School of Business students and faculty members will use #ZARBmeansbusiness on both university and private social media platforms to spread awareness of the new retail store. Social media is such an important part of marketing in 2023, so the store hopes students and faculty can share their excitement online!
Expanding Selections
As the store opens and gains traction, we hope to be able to expand our merchandise options for students and faculty members at Hofstra University. More #ZARBmeansbusiness clothing and accessory items are in the works just waiting for the day the store opens. And don’t think The Zarb Store’s interns forgot about Zarb School of Business family members–Zarb School of Business t-shirts and crewnecks for parents are being designed, and maybe even another pet friendly item will be hitting shelves one day! So please make sure to keep your excitement for The Zarb Store high as the semester’s continue on.
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
Get Excited, Zarb Students!
The Zarb Store is truly honored to finally open its doors to students and faculty in Spring 2023. Professor Cafarelli and the store’s many committed interns hope opening The Zarb Store will create the best semester yet–hard work and dedication truly pays off! Come on down to the corridor connecting C.V. Starr’s second floor to the Leo A. Guthart Hall for Innovation and Discovery to view the storefront now!
Image Source: Victoria Tudisco (2023)
The Zarb Store 
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