A student and an alumnus are proposing to convert a small curtain closet on the ground floor of Norris University Center into a DVD/video rental store to allow students to rent movies on campus.
“(The video store) is a necessity sort of thing since Blockbuster is kind of far,” said Michael Cruz, the McCormick senior who proposed the idea. “Even as a senior, I still don’t have a car. We want to provide a service that’s cheaper than Blockbuster and that’s fairly accessible. From a business perspective, it’s a good potential market.”
Although the proposed $20 million renovation to Norris University Center still is in the fund-raising stages, Cruz and business partner Jake Brick, McCormick ’01, hope to soon transform a small part of Northwestern’s student union.
Cruz and Brick said they estimate they can make between $30,000 to $40,000 in profits from the business. The proposal will be reviewed by the Norris Advisory Board at its meeting at the end of January, and if the proposal is approved, further plans would then be made to establish the business.
“To me, one of the biggest strengths of the new proposal is to make a student-run business service to benefit students – it’s one of the many reasons why Norris University Center exists,” said Joe Mroczkowski, associate director of Norris. “It’s a really good proposal, and I’m really excited about it.”
Funding for the business would come from loans and personal investments from the two partners.
“It’s a low initial start-up cost,” Cruz said. “Nothing is coming out of the university and we’re not getting funding from (Associated Student Government). This is going to be entirely a student-run venue.”
Norris University Center Director Bill Johnston said he has been trying to establish a video store in Norris for four years, but hasn’t seen a solid financial plan to fund the endeavor until now.
“The proposal is a bit of a reach at this point,” Johnston said. “But the real key difference is that the students don’t have to go out and buy the videos.”
In order to purchase videos for lower fees, the business will use a program similar to the one Blockbuster uses when it guarantees new releases: Blockbuster buys videos from the company that releases the movie and promises to return the rental videos after the guarantee period is finished.
Cruz and Brick said the store would be located near the south entrance of Norris, adjacent to the Norris Bookstore and smoking area in space rented from the university center.
Although it would start by offering only a small number of videos and DVDs, Cruz said the store will grow if students show an interest in the service. With time, the business may be able to expand, with rental drop-off boxes located throughout campus and rental delivery to students who live off campus, Brick said.
“We’re just looking to see if a service of a student-run video store is going to be successful and if students will patronize it,” Mroczkowski said. “Our goal is to see if it’s a viable service and if it can stand on its own two feet.”
If students respond with interest to the service, Cruz said the business will put its profits into further expansion. He also said he hopes the store can grow as a part of any future Norris renovations.
Brick and Cruz said they are now waiting to hear from the Norris Advisory Board. If the proposal is approved, Brick said they will need about a month to set up the business before the students can start renting movies.