With more than 30,000 students attending Boston University, the college isn’t just a school &- it’s an economy, local businesses say.
And as the school year begins, stores along campus are working to quickly integrate students back into the economic infrastructure of Commonwealth Avenue &- a task that involves thousands of student customers, more than 20 businesses and a steady number of student employees.
“How many people do you see walking down the streets here who are not BU students, unless it’s a Red Sox game?” asked Leahy Winter, a College of Arts and Sciences senior and an employee at Boston City Florist, located at 714 Comm. Ave. “A lot of the walk-ins are definitely BU students.”
The student population greatly affects the economy of Comm. Ave., where some businesses set up shop primarily to profit from college students.
The Goodwill store, located at 965 Comm. Ave, has several college student employees. The store notices a seven percent increase in sales when students come back into town during the fall and winter months.
“I think anecdotally we get a lot of students who come in looking to stretch their dollars,” said James Harder, a spokesman for the Boston branch of Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries.
“There’ve always been some good strong synergies between universities and Goodwill,” Harder added.
Eastern Mountain Sports, located at 1041 Comm. Ave, has about three student employees and also sells a product strongly of interest to students: bikes.
Wade Linafelter, the store’s assistant manager, said some revenue comes from students who end up staying in Boston for the summer and didn’t bring a bike.
“I think we would survive [without students], but I can honestly say that it would be tough,” Linafelter said. “Our advantage is having other stores and locations. We would probably shrink the store up a little bit more.”
Stores such as Eastern Mountain Sports also benefit from part-time student employees, because they don’t have to provide insurance or a 401k for the shorter number of hours they work.
Stefan Fritsch is a Northeastern University student interning at The UPS Store as part of the university’s cooperative education program, in which students work full-time for a semester.
“It is a night and day difference between the summer and the fall, even in the spring,” Fristch said, referring to the impact of students’ presence on the store. “The business that we get during the day is almost I’d say a 50 to 100 percent increase.”
Northeastern’s unique Co-op program sent 82 percent of its undergraduates to work in businesses in Massachusetts in the 2008 – 2009 academic year, indirectly playing a role in the state’s economy.
Louie’s, a hair salon on 712 Comm. Ave., is one of the many small, non-corporate businesses on the BU stretch of Comm. Ave.
Louie Fenerlis, the salon’s owner, has been running his business for 17 years, and while the student population doesn’t completely make or break the small salon, it does affect it.
As he cut a regular customer’s hair, Fenerlis explained that when thousands of students move in to town, it always affects business.
“When they leave it hurts us,” Fenerlis said, scissors and comb in hand. “But in a positive light, we’re able to retain these customers for four years.”
Despite other factors, college students remain an essential part of the economy of Comm. Ave., serving as cheaper back-up workers and targeted consumers.
“Without [students], it’s really tough to run a lot of businesses anymore,” Linafelter said.
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