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PRINCETON: U-Store weathers downturn with layoffs, less hours

By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
   Officers of the Princeton U-Store continue to monitor business at the store’s two borough locations, after imposing some layoffs at both and a reduction in hours at one site.
   The Nassau Street store sells Princeton University apparel and gifts, while the store on University Place offers shoppers snacks, drinks, cosmetics, a printing shop, school supplies, sporting goods and other items.
   Both locations lost two full-time employees in a round of layoffs late last year. The stores are operated by a cooperative that is independent from the university. Its board of directors is expected to have more discussions on the impact of economic conditions during a meeting Tuesday. “With continuing economic pressure the board has to consider what will keep the store alive, as an ongoing enterprise,” said Dorothy Bedford, chairwoman of the store’s board of directors.
   The board is comprised of students, faculty, a staff member and Princeton University alumni.
The additional layoff of two full-time employees in the organization’s offices brought the total to six positions cut, out of a workforce of around 40 employees, according to store President James Sykes, who is responsible for making decisions on layoffs and other operational issues.
   In addition to layoffs, the independent cooperative also cut hours at the University Place store following a decision in late 2008, according to Mr. Sykes.
   At one time the University Place store provided university students and others with a place to buy soft drinks, snacks and other goods 24 hours a day, but a lack of business in the early morning hours led the board to change store hours to 8 a.m. to 3 a.m.
   Store officials said the early morning hours at the University Place store were used as a “marketing mechanism” in better times, which no longer made sense because of light business in the early morning hours.
   The cut in hours means that students are forced to walk to the Wawa store further down University Place or go elsewhere between 3 and 8 a.m. to satisfy early-morning cravings. Hours at the other store remain 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with shorter hours on Sunday, Mr. Sykes said.
   Mr. Sykes said he does not see an immediate need for more layoffs, but lagging sales and other pressures mean the possibility of more tough decisions for one of Princeton Borough’s longest-tenured retail establishments.
   ”We’re not sure what the future holds in terms of the economic conditions, but we will react to future changes as we move forward,” Mr. Sykes said.
   As an entity independent of the university, the store is not tax-exempt, Mr. Sykes said.
   The store has been in business since 1905, and became the borough’s oldest retail store with the closing of Luttman’s Luggage on Witherspoon Street, store officials said.