BY LAURYN BECKER
It’s likely that upperclassmen have passed by what used to be the Tiger Spirit Shop and noticed some recent changes and a recent rebranding.
Due to a lease on the old Spirit Shop expiring last year, the University took over the Spirit Shop and did a complete rebranding beginning in December of 2020.
“The school decided with taking over, they saw changes they wanted and deemed them fit for the new store,” Courtney Victoria, Victor E Apparel and Gift Shop manager said.
The new store, now called Victor E Apparel and Gift Shop, was no easy task to rebrand. But, the school wanted to get students involved in the rebranding process Victoria explained. In the spring semester of 2021, students were given the opportunity to participate in a name contest for the new store.
“We had a name contest in the spring and various people submitted name suggestions, took top 15 and got feedback from different campus groups, cut down that down to five and got feedback again, then we picked out the name Victor E. Apparel and Gifts,” Victoria said, “It fit the theme of our campus and what we want to do in the store.”
There are quite a few changes coming to the new store as well that students can take advantage of, such as new discounts and opportunities to get involved with the store.
“We want students to take advantage of TGOF (Tiger Gear On Friday) where they can [get] discounts just for wearing Tiger Gear, and we also are going to be doing athletic promotions and discounts as well, for example; if the Tigers win on football game days, we’ll have discounts in the store the next day; so stay involved with Fort Hays athletics to know what’s up,” Victoria said.
Victoria also stated that something that she is looking forward to is getting feedback on the new clothing items in the store, as well as more of a community presence in the Hays area.
“We want to hit some target areas around Hays and campus too as we want to reach the online campus and alumni,” Victoria said.
Another exciting piece to the store is the addition of Fort Hays Brand Ambassadors. Ambassadors will be able to showcase apparel around campus and work with the Shop to provide feedback, talk to students about clothing they want to see, and work closely with the Shop on continuous improvement of the store.
“Our brand ambassadors are going to get to wear merch around campus and advertise it on social media as well,” Victoria said, “We’re excited to hear their feedback on clothing items as well as what they hear on campus, and bring more people into the store.”
Victoria encourages students to come stop by the store, provide feedback, or let them know what students would like to see in the store. Victoria would also like to encourage students to come in on Fridays wearing their Tiger gear for a discount and after game days as well, and to look out for giveaways coming up in the near future.
For more information on the Victor E, Apparel and Gift Shop, visit https://victoreapparelandgiftco.myresero.com.
