Group 4: Sorida Ly, Stephen Puente, Rachel Snape, Erica Doty, Lauren Gentry, Kalie Haygood

THE STORYAs with most universities, students spend much of their college experience in the classroom absorbing and memorizing information from class lectures with little or no outside working experience.

PROPOSED UNT RETAIL ENVIRONMENT

An University “Town Square” that will offer:

retail products and services to students and consumers a retail environment for students to apply their college education in a

real-world setting an escape to socialize, relax, have fun, and find entertainment

Students will receive both utilitarian and hedonic benefits, creating a total consumer experience unique only to UNT.

OUR RETAIL INSPIRATIONS

IKEA

Top Golf

Hard Rock Café

Dallas Farmers Market

IKEA

Interior – affordable products are arranged in “real-life” finished-displays to appeal to the consumer eye and give them great ideas for how the products will look, feel, and be used in their own home.

Exterior – modern concrete with blue walls and yellow accents along the building

IKEA

Implementation: Build a “town square" where students apply

the finished product of their college education in a real-world setting

The town square will provide affordable products to university students who are on a budget

Experiential Elements: Display of Finished Products Affordable Products

TOP GOLF

Exterior – modern multi-level complex that towers over a large parking lot that is always full of cars

Outdoor Patio, & Rooftop Terrace

54-hole miniature golf course

Batting cages

Interior large airy lobby with guest services full-service bar & grill over 200 flat screen tvs broadcasting sport programs rooftop terrace

Top Golf took the old concept of driving ranges and turned it into a point-scoring game set in a social setting

TOP GOLFExperiential Elements:Edu-tainmentSocial Escapism

Implementation: Students from various majors are educated by industry

professionals, outside of the classroom, in a retail and entertainment environment

The Town Square will offer a place where all University students can come during their off-time to relax, socialize, have fun, and escape.

HARD ROCK CAFEExterior – an nondescript brown building with a bigger-than-life guitar signage atop their front door that proudly boasts “Hard Rock Café”

Interior “Rock Shop” lively modern restaurant with a large circular bar eclectic décor of rock & roll memorabilia flat screen tvs that plays rock music videos performance stage where rock bands can perform

HARD ROCK CAFE

Experiential Elements: Cultural Experience Collectibles & Memorabilia

Implementation: Create a unique UNT cultural experience in the Town Square

ex: display UNT colors, banners, & mascot, have UNT-related festivities and

parades, UNT performance art students can showcase their talent, etc. Incorporate boutiques in the Town Square where UNT Fashion &

Merchandising students can design their own apparel, accessories, and UNT theme collectibles and memorabilia for purchase.

DALLAS FARMERS MARKETExterior – an enormous outdoor market that connects communities to local farmers, producers, artisans, and other vendors, and provides wholesome family activities, cooking classes, and other educational programs.

Interior – consists of large “sheds” where local farmers and vendors offer fresh produce, specialty-items, meat-products, and delicious eateries.

DALLAS FARMERS MARKETExperiential Elements: Green Products Consumer Involvement

Implementation: Promote a Green Products by:

– incorporating a “Green Market” in the Town Square to encourage students to

buy fresh produce from local farmers

– incorporating a Consignment store where students can resell their unused clothes

& personal items, and Fashion & Merchandising students can design and sell

apparel & accessories made from deconstructed recycled material Hold cooking classes and demonstrations to involve students in learning to live

healthier lifestyles by cooking meals themselves, and provide access to health & nutritional information.

UNT CURRENT OFFERINGS Dormitories Dining Facilities The Club at Gateway Center Student Union Campus Library Fitness & Recreation Center Health & Vision Center, Pharmacy North Texas Child Development Laboratory UNT Student Affairs Lab classes that supplement lecture classes

Advantages: UNT offers many wonderful services and establishment to provide for a “campus-life” experience, and students are often employed at these establishments.

Disadvantage: The location of each UNT establishment is widely spread apart. Often-times, students have to traverse the entire campus to visit one establishment or another. Students sometimes are even unaware of what services are available, because the establishments are not located in a readily accessible area.

MAKING A DIFFERENCEOur proposed Town Square will offer an improvement on current UNT offerings. Although some of the services and establishments are similar in nature, our Town Square will differentiate itself by:

providing a location where students can fulfill their utilitarian and hedonic needs in one convenient place

increasing the amount of opportunities available for students, in many different areas of study, to gain real-world experience

ex: business, accounting, fashion, art, music, film, kinesiology, childhood education, etc. providing students with paid employment opportunities and

professional experiences to put on their resume instituting an curriculum where students will receive educational and

internship credit towards their degree

CHALLENGES AND COMPLICATIONS

Obtaining Capital for construction and expenses Finding the right Location Establishing an Educational/Work Curriculum Obtaining Industry Professionals to manage retail

establishments & educate Students

CONCLUSION

The University Town Square is a progressive hands-on learning environment that will provide every Realm of Experience, Education, Escape, Aesthetics, and Entertainment, creating a total consumer experience found at no other university.

Students will be able to absorb and immerse themselves in active and passive roles to meet all of their utilitarian and hedonic needs, all in one location.

The Town Square will also provide students with educational, professional, and internship opportunities found nowhere else.

With its implementation and success, the University will attract a larger market of prospective students and increase admission to the school like never before.

OUR VISION

Restaurant

Green Market & Sandwich Shop

UNT Clothing & Merchandise Boutique

Consignment Store

Fitness Center

Day Care Center

Student Apartments University Inn Amphitheatre Courtyard And more

THE FUTUREAs the Town Square grow and becomes a successful part of UNT, we hope that it will:

expand to incorporate other retail and service establishments allow as many UNT majors as possible to participate in its learning

environment, gain hands-on experience, and receive employment & internship opportunities