The Kent State Fashion School Store experienced turning points when the company hired a new store manager and established plans to move locations.

Kent State’s Fashion School ranks in the top five in the nation and globe, which inspired the idea of the nonprofit business, said Kim Jihyun, Associate Professor and Faculty Advisor of the Fashion School Store.

The Fashion School Store launched in Acorn Alley II in Spring 2012, said Jihyun.

The store’s purpose allows faculty and students to research and test design, production, buying, marketing, sales and planning models in a live retail setting, according to the Fashion School Store website.

“Any decision around the store, we make it together,” Jihyun said. “We meet almost every two weeks, and we talk about merchandise we need to bring in, collaboration we can do with the students and faculties, as well as a class called collaborative fashion production.”

Jihyun said the students are creating from the beginning to the end of the semester. From those creations, they are able to bring in merchandise to the store, and that is the profit from the student and store collaboration.

Kent State Fashion School’s faculty formerly worked as Fashion School Store managers, but their attention divided between the store and teaching classes, Marketing Assistant Alex Parrott said.

Karey Christie, the relatively new Fashion School Store Manager, views this semester as an opportunity to promote the shop’s existence and grab potential customers’ attentions.

“We are definitely trying to have a lot more promotional events,” Christie said. “We are doing pop-up sales all over campus, and we are participating in a lot of events that Kent is having.”

Aside from promotional events, Kent State’s Fashion Store workers look forward to moving premises.

“We are moving right across from the hotel, and we are moving just for greater visibility,” Christie said. “We are tucked a little bit away in a corner here and don’t get a lot of walk by traffic, so we want to be as visible as possible.”

The store curators hope to accomplish visual prominence, additional exposure from popular neighboring businesses and higher sale rates once the Fashion School Store switches locations, Jihyun said.

The Fashion School Store plans to close the current store operation mid-March, which will not be open for business again until a month later at the reopening at the new premise.

Once the store officially moves into the location across from the hotel, they will arrange a grand opening to coincide with the annual fashion school show during the fourth week of April, Jihyun said.

Contact Kelsey Drumm at [email protected].