Tervis Tumbler Company, North Venice, Fla., has opened a new retail location on the campus of Ohio State University. According to the Columbus Business First, this is the company’s first Ohio location and its first shop located on a college campus.
“This location will not only differ by size but also by our target location demographic,” Chad Blankenship, vice president of retail sores for Tervis Tumbler Company, told the Columbus Business Journal. “We are known to choose high-tourist markets for our new store locations, but this location will target the collegiate consumer. The designs featured in the store will cater more toward the collegiate consumer assortment, versus our typical, ‘we have something for everyone’ assortment.”
College-centric promotions have become wildly popular among students, parents and fans alike. Last month, Pittsburgh-based apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters acquired Tailgate Clothing Co., and plans to open approximately 200 stores in college towns.
Forbes reported that the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), which represents about 200 colleges, universities, bowl games, and the NCAA, estimated that the college-licensed merchandise industry is worth $4.6 billion.
Like the partnership of American Eagle Outfitters and Tailgate Clothing Co., which hopes to put retail locations in college sports powerhouses in the Midwest and South (homes of the Big 12 and Southeast Conferences), Tervis Tumbler Company has a large fan base, therefore a large client base, at Ohio State.
“OSU is a great seller for us so we are very excited to have this be our initial collegiate campus store,” Blankenship said to the Columbus Business Journal. “We are excited to give them a store on campus to continue to fuel their dedication to both OSU and Tervis.”
Tervis Tumbler Company has added around 10 stores annually over the last three years. If the company sees success on Ohio State’s campus, it could be an incentive for more companies to add college-branded items to their collections.
