Changing Hands’ Bob Sommer on the Importance of ABACUS

“ABACUS has helped us so many times over the years — when we were writing business plans to secure loans, when we were negotiating with a landlord, when we wanted to know where we might be overspending compared to other stores of our size, and when we wanted to know just how well we might be able to do if we could only figure out what some of those other folks were doing to generate such high sales per square foot,”  says Bob Sommer, co-owner of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona.

“No matter what size store you have or whether your sales are up or (like ours) not exactly up this year, your participation in the survey is so important to all of us. And, I guarantee, the knowledge you gain in the process will be of use to you, too.”

Stores participating in the ABACUS-10 Survey, underway now, receive a free customized report analyzing their financial results, including comparisons with other businesses based on multiple criteria (such as sales level, store size, and community type) in addition to year-to-year trending information.

Data gathering is via a completely secure and confidential electronic form. Once submitted, data is only accessible to Martha Love of the National Association of College Stores’ (NACS) OnCampus Research, which is compiling and producing ABACUS-10 reports for ABA.

Information about participating in the survey and a unique survey I.D. number were sent to bookstore members on Friday, June 3, in an e-mail from Love bearing the subject line “ABACUS10 Survey STARTS TODAY.” The survey deadline is August 12.

Booksellers with questions about submitting data to the survey should contact Love at OnCampus Research via e-mail. Booksellers with general questions about ABACUS should contact ABA COO Len Vlahos.