BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- With school out and warm weather in, a southcentral New York convenience store chain has found a new way to keep its name and products in front of potential customers. Manley's Mighty Mart, based in Binghamton, N.Y., opened its newest store inside the local Binghamton Zoo in Ross Park in May.
We actually have two locations at the zoo, company president Jack Brayton told CSP Daily News, a small kiosk at the top of the hill in the zoo, and then at the main entrance, we have a regular convenience store of [about 1,000 square feet].[image-nocss]
Manley's at the Zoo is a seasonal operation that will be open April through October. It came about through previous work Manley's, a 21-store chain, has done with the city and the zoo.
We've had a relationship with the city for many years and we showed an interest a couple years ago in the zoo by trying to help them with advertising and donations, Brayton said. They considered what they had done in the past [in terms of retail] and came to us and said, We dont like to do food in the zoo; we're really poor at it. So how about helping us out?' So we took it on.
The store's product mix highlights fresh food, including the chain's Big Al's Pizza and fresh sandwiches. Other products include suntan lotion, disposable cameras, snacks and beverages. It's the kind of stuff people would need while they're just entering or just leaving the zoo, like lunch, Brayton said.
There's no tobacco or alcohol in the mix, but the company has added T-shirts to advertise both the zoo and the chain. We had T-shirts made up that say Manley's at the Zoo, Brayton said. They're a drab olive green to fit the zoo motif. We sell them for just over cost.
An added incentive to shop at the store this first season is a promise by Manley's to donate all profits back to the zoo. We've guaranteed that the Binghamton Zoo in Ross Park gets 100% of our profits this year, Brayton said. It gives us an opportunity to get our name on the property and we're doing something for the city zoo at the same time because we're donating our profits to them for this year. We'll always donate some of the profits, but this year it's 100%.
With things working well in the first few weeks of the project, Brayton said the store could open other doors for the chain.
This is something that we could take the idea and go with in other not-for-profit areas, he said. We've diverted a significant portion of our advertising dollars into the local community and economy by doing things like this. That's the reason we're doing it. Also, we get free press rather than paying for it, but we're also helping an organization at the same time.
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