Stakeholder’s Report

News Staff - Fri Jan 16, 2015

Welcome back to school everyone! Here at the SU we thought it would be interesting to provide some information about the financial health of the Students’ Union, in form of a stakeholders report focusing on the businesses we run. This report will give a brief overview of the major happenings in each of our business units so far this year, as well as discuss the position of the SU as a whole.

Not only do our businesses provide a service by meeting your needs on campus at affordable prices, they generate profit for the SU and help to support other things we do for students! Of course, there is always room for improvement and we’re constantly looking for areas of growth. If you find this report interesting and would like any further information, please contact VP Operations and Finance Cory Hodgson at vp.operations@su.ualberta.ca

Focusing on Growth

Over 2015, we’ll be looking to grow business revenues from the bars, as well as look at different directions SUBmart could go. Currently, a group of students is working in a project called SMRT (Student Market Research Team), to conduct research on the bars and SUBmart to identify issues and propose solutions. Results from this team should be going into effect for the next Fall semester, and the team will continue and look at some of our other business units.

Updates on SU Businesses:

SUBprint

SUBprint is our most consistent performer in terms of revenue generation. Currently they are exceeded their profit targets by approximately 25K and are well on track to meet their target net profit.

SUBmart/SUBtitles

SUBtitles has seen significant decline in the used book market this year, which has been echoed by the University bookstore. As students transition to other means for acquiring textbooks, SUBmart/SUBtitles will transition to offering different products that students are looking for.

Postal Outlet

Due to the nature of running a franchise business, we have less freedom in running the postal outlet then we do in our other businesses. With student loan forms no longer needing to be processed through the post office, and general decline in the use of physical post, we’ve seen a drop in our revenue, but the Postal Outlet still remains profitable.

Dewey’s

Over the summer Dewey’s had a small facelift with a new floor in the main room as well as new couches for the upstairs mezzanine. Dewey’s has also seen a significant change in the way we conduct service changing from bar service to table service. We’ve seen significant growth in our gross revenue, implying our market share is growing. Expenses are still formidable, with Dewey’s paying 76K a year in rent to the University. Dewey’s is our only business that has to pay full rent.

RATT

RATT is currently meeting its budget targets. A new menu has just launched in similar style to the menu at Dewey’s, drop by and check out some of the new options.

L’Express

L’Express catering continues to be solid, and over-the-counter sales are holding up. We are facing challenges from rising food prices and staff costs, but these are being addressed with an eye to keeping prices low.

Daily Grind

The Daily Grind has so far exceeded all expectations. Currently it has generated triple the net profit budgeted for, and is a popular choice among coffee consumers on campus.

Under Grind

The Under Grind opened this Fall in the newly redeveloped lower level of SUB. While its performance is minimal currently, we expect it to grow as the lower level atrium is completed and traffic in the lower level increases.

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