Average inventory turns in museum gift shop
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Jeffrey Greenberg/UIG via Getty ImagesĪfter operation costs, any profit a museum store makes goes back to its institution, and based on MSA numbers, store contributions typically account for as little as 5 percent all the way up to a full quarter of the museum’s annual revenue. Guajardo estimates that big exhibits featuring popular artists and topics can add “anywhere from 25 to 70 percent” to his store’s total year-end sales compared to a “typical year” where sales typically reach just “over $2 million.” Frida Kahlo dolls in gift shop of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. The amount that a store contributes to the bottom line “depends on the institution, but it is sizeable,” says Tudor. What began in the late 1800s as a small box of reproductions or counter with a limited selection of items has bloomed into a much larger retail phenomenon filled with glossy art books, printed scarves, and ethically sourced jewelry.īecause for all of their curatorial efforts and goals to extend learning experiences, stores are a commercial enterprise. With its title, the 2010 Banksy film Exit Through The Gift Shop gave a nod to the complicated relationship between art and commerce. The tricky relationship between art and commerce Beyond the close link these custom products have to their museum’s collection, they also offer better profit margins. Today “art museums are a great source for original products, as 92 percent sell product that is custom-made to their location,” says Tudor. Museums are hoping that these memories will make you want to come back. Things like books can help with further learning, but even items that aren’t obviously educational “can provide a hook for future remembering.” A visit to an art museum can last a few hours, but the memories that come with a pair of novelty slippers can last a lifetime. Macdonald says that stores “have the potential to really enhance the experience by providing the opportunity for visitors to take something tangible away with them.” Through the magic of retail, stores give museums a way to build their brand and develop long term relationships with their visitors. These curatorial collaborations ensure that whether the store is commissioning its own products, working with brands, or buying them from the trade, their pieces connect directly or thematically to the collection - and many museums underscore that relationship by including information in product displays or packing about the artworks that inspired them. The recipient of an MSA Recognition Award, the store was transformed into the artist’s studio and painted in the same colors as the exhibition, with several design touches extending the gallery directly into the retail space. The perfect example of that is a Rodin store developed by Michael Guajardo, the director of retail operations at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and his team. Gift shop at the Cameron Art Museum, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Macdonald compares these retail settings to the final exhibit of a show. This collaboration is important because museums often consider their stores a space for continued learning and a second chance to stress the main point of an exhibition. Tudor says that before developing products, store buyers will meet with curatorial departments to learn “the takeaway and main points of an upcoming show.” On a practical branding level, the museum’s curatorial team helps store buyers make sure colors are correct in reproductions and checks out copyrights, which can sometimes be impossible or overly expensive to secure.īut their role extends beyond that says Susan Tudor, vice president of the Museum Store Associations board of directors and the manager of visitor services and store buyer for the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida. That’s because the same people responsible for putting together exhibitions have a say in what makes it onto store shelves. Some visitors even “begin with the shop in order to find out what is important to see in the museum!” says Sharon Macdonald, director of the Center for Anthropological Research on Museums and Heritage and professor of social anthropology at the Humboldt University of Berlin. These unique retail spaces help educate visitors, build the museum’s brand, and work to highlight - and sometimes even influence - the aspects of art the institution views as important.īecause basically, stores are like the ultimate cheat sheet - the more you see a piece of art referenced, the more important it probably is. There are few places where such a mishmash of items makes sense besides in an art museum gift shop.Ĭontributing up to as much as a quarter of museum revenue, gift shops can be crucial to a museum’s bottom line, but their contributions aren’t only economic. And of course, the classics: postcards, mugs, and magnets. An overwhelming number of printed silk scarves.