On Feb. 10, the U-Store changed its membership terms so that members’ 10 percent discount applied only to branded merchandise, rather than all items, sparking frustration and disappointment among students. In recent months, the U-Store has also been leaning into student partnerships and collaborations in an effort to bolster connection with the student body.
U-Store CEO and President June Archer ’85 told The Daily Princetonian that the discount change was a “business decision” and argued that the organization has “more ways to interact with the community and students that go way beyond one pricing mechanism.”
“I don’t discount it at all, and I don’t dismiss it,” Archer said of student disappointment surrounding the membership changes. “What I do have to just reiterate, we had to make a business decision.”
The U-Store, though it has a branding agreement with the University, is an independent not-for-profit cooperative organization. The member-based model means that any surplus revenue is meant to go towards members in the form of discounts or is reinvested back into the business. A lifetime membership costs $35, while a one-year membership is $15.
Archer did not directly respond to questions about the considerations that went into making the decision to change the terms of membership for those who were already members, rather than only for new members, but she said that members of the store could reach out with concerns.
“If there’s anything that a member wants to connect with us about, please, we’ll personally talk to them about their membership … and we will make sure that that member feels like they’ve been heard and they’ve been taken care of,” Archer said.
In recent months, the U-Store has begun collaborations with various students on campus. Archer described thinking about “how we really engage and support student voices” as a key initiative for the store.
Collaborations are planned with the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club) design team and The Hungry Tiger, a popular food-centered Instagram account run by Alistair Wright ’27 and James Swinehart ’27. Five undergraduate students and two graduate students also sit on the store’s board of trustees.
Wright is the Business manager of the ‘Prince’ and Swinehart is a former Business director for the ‘Prince.’
The U-Store is partnering with the E-Club to develop a new student-designed product line. Archer said that the merchandise will not be ready for sale until next school year at the earliest, but she said the organizations have connected with a vendor.
“Everything is in the [E-Club design] team’s hands now, for them to create designs,” Archer said. “For me, it’s a whole other dimension that I personally have been really interested in, because I would love to see students connecting to the designs and the merchandise in a way that’s relevant to you guys.”
Hellen Luo ’28 and Diana Luu ’28, the directors of the E-Club design team, were unable to comment due to time constraints.
On Friday, April 3, The Hungry Tiger will host a “U-Store Takeover” at the store’s Sonia Sotomayor Hall location. Select food items will be labeled as “Hungry Tiger approved,” and purchasers of those items will have the opportunity to enter into a raffle for one of three Hungry Tiger-branded mugs.
Swinehart told the ‘Prince’ that the U-Store had reached out to raise the idea of a partnership last spring. The Hungry Tiger’s motivation was “getting our name out there and trying to have something fun for campus.” He said he hopes there is a “continued collaboration” between the two groups. “Be there April 3. It’s gonna be awesome, you could win a mug.”
“The Hungry Tiger is about student voices, crazy energy these guys have, and how that helps us be really connected to students,” Archer said.
Additionally, the U-Store held a “spring sampling showcase” last week, where it offered a variety of drinks and snacks for free over four days. The samples offered included La Colombe coffee and Red Bull, Clio snack bars, and Herr’s chips.
The U-Store has held sampling showcases since 2013, according to Archer, but she described “having an eye toward sampling some things that are fan favorites, along with some things that are just very new,” as a differentiator in this spring’s samples.
The U-Store has, in recent years, seen stark fluctuations in its financial footing. In the 2024 fiscal year, the organization had a net income of only $6,565, a steep decline from $562,599 in 2023 and $354,197 in 2022. However, the organization’s 2025 net income of $136,496 represented a significant increase.
The 2024 fiscal year ended on June 29, and Archer began serving in the roles in September 2024. Jim Sykes was the previous longtime president.
“I wasn’t the person who put together the business plan for that year … I can’t tell you the actions that drove all of it, because I wasn’t part of all of that,” Archer said of the 2024 figures. However, she claimed that “shifts from year to year are very common.”
“My vision for the future is that we’re really thoughtful, we’re smart about how we balance the fact that this company is about the community, the connections, the engagement, and it’s also about being a sustainable business, and two things are true at the same time,” Archer said.
Oliver Wu is the assistant News editor for the ‘Prince’ leading town coverage, focused on the Municipality of Princeton and beyond. He is from Stony Brook, N.Y. and can be reached at oliver.wu[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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