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ASOM GIFT SHOP HITS $2 MIL MARK
Expansion Allows More Merchandise

FAYETTEVILLE, NC. The Airborne & Special Operations Museum (ASOM) gift shop surpassed the $2 million sales mark this past weekend, after just 3 ¼ years. Run by the Museum Foundation, the gift shop provides revenue to support Museum programming. During the past fiscal year sales averaged over $62,000 per month, or nearly $63 per square foot per month, with an average transaction of about $16.00. And sales continue to consistently increase.

The Foundation, realizing the potential for even more success in the gift shop operation, has just completed an expansion of the shop. What had been a small office and a storage area have now been integrated into the sales floor. The 990 square foot shop has become 1390 square feet.

“This expansion lets me find even more of those perfect items that keep the registers ringing, that keep the customers finding what they’re looking for, or what they see and just have to buy,” said Sylvia Fincher, Gift Shop Manager. The gift shop inventory consists of items mainly related to Army airborne and special operations: charms, watches and other jewelry; challenge coins; limited edition prints; t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets and hats; an outstanding selection of books; videos and DVD’s; music including the highly demanded 82nd Airborne All-American Chorus; ornaments and statues; and on and on.

The Foundation created a printed catalog of gift shop merchandise a little over a year ago. The second edition will come off the press this month. Just after the print catalog, the Foundation launched on-line shopping through its web site. Total web and catalog sales in that year have reached nearly $90,000.

Contact: Sandy Klotz at sklotz@asomf.org, (910) 483-3003 ext. 226 or on the web at www.asomf.org.