Studystore is gone, other entrepreneurs not about to stop

Campus Woudestein entrepreneurs’ turnover is still not at the level it was before the pandemic. They’re eagerly awaiting September, when the entrepreneurs hope that both customers and turnover will increase again. “If only online education and working from home ever goes away again.”

• On-campus shops have requested rent reduction due to corona virus outbreak
• Campus businesses struggle despite rent reduction
• Campus businesses look forward to full opening in September

Campus Bikes bicycle shop is now running on around a third of its previous turnover. “We’re still full of hope,” stated the bicycle shop. “But things aren’t going at all as they should. We need lots of students attending the campus. And although there are students again, there still aren’t many.” The bicycle shop has asked the university whether there will be more on-campus lectures in September. “They were unable to offer clarity on this. We’re staying on campus for now, but we’re not sure about the future. That’s a decision we still need to make.”

Studystore is and will remain closed. The branch on the Polak building ground floor is empty. According to the company, students are increasingly buying their study material online. “The coronavirus period actually accelerated this development,” the company stated. That’s why it decided to continue entirely online.

Full campus

Switching online is not an option for most other entrepreneurs. “We’re currently running at 60 to 70 per cent turnover compared with 2019,” explained Marc van Hooijdonk from Tostiworld. “That’s not enough to survive in the long term.” He has heard similar stories from other Food Plaza entrepreneurs. “We’re complaining about this to each other, but I’ve not heard any entrepreneurs talk about stopping yet.”

The university’s temporary reduction in the lease has helped keep their heads above water. “But you need a full campus to get back to the previous level,” explained Lydia from Hairdesign by Lydia. Last September, it felt normal again for her and her ‘colleague campus entrepreneurs’. The campus was brimming with people and that was reflected in the turnover. That’s why we hope that the new academic year will start with a lot of offline education. “We’re just hoping things will return to normal despite online education and homeworking.”