What was once a small room in Arrowhead High School’s North Campus Commons has quickly developed into a real-life store. Arrowhead’s school store, called “The Warhawk Trading Post,” has seen success- in both profit and the number of customers, but now faces numerous challenges to keep it running.
“We have had an unbelievable amount of success this year in terms of revenue and overall sales,” said Reed Connolly, school store supervisor and Arrowhead senior.
The Trading Post has taken over the role of selling school merchandise for the Booster Club. All school spirit wear can be bought through the school store.
Previously, the store sold only candy, beverages, and minimal spirit wear. This year, the store has noticed a large increase in school merchandise sales, perhaps due to Arrowhead switching to Nike apparel.
“Students are all about materialism these days. By having school attire with the Nike logo, students are more inclined to purchase apparel. We feel that having clothes with Nike apparel, we will boost sales. Last year, having generic brand attire, we noticed sales were much lower than what they are this year,” said Arrowhead senior and DECA leader Nick Wolfgram.
Other big changes to the school store occurred because of government sanctions. By setting a law as to the amount of calories that can be sold, The Warhawk Trading Post is only allowed to sell beverages less than 100 calories. This means they must sell only diet soda products. They also sell Arizona tea, Gatorade, bottled water, and flavored water.
The law also doesn’t allow the store to sell food during lunch hours, limiting what can be sold at certain hours.
“With new government regulations as to when food can be consumed, we have to advertise more and try to sell as much as possible in the hours allowed,” said Peyton Kelligher, store manager and Arrowhead senior.
Arrowhead’s school store’s growth over the years has turned it into a daily stop for students. Students rely on the schools store to provide the snacks necessary to get through the day.