Sales for fiscal year 1991 totaled $60 million,down 4 percent from the year before and almost 7percent from 1989's all-time record of $64.4million.
Despite the depressed figures, Murphy doesn'trule out the possibility of expanding the Coop inproperties it now occupies in the Harvard Squarearea.
One possible area of expansion is the Coop'sbuilding at 1 Bow St. The buildings' second floorhouses the store's data processing division, andthe first floor is rented to the Bow and ArrowClub and Baskin and Robbins Ice Cream.
"We really haven't thought about what we'regoing to do with that property," says Murphy."We've had it on the books for a long time."
The Coop also rents the space above the BorderCafe from the University for its printingdepartment.
Coop board members have had their eye on thespace, but Harvard is unwilling to sell. Thepurchase would also be complicated by the presenceof the Border Cafe in the same building, Murphysays.
But he adds, "I think it's safe to say that anyspace you're doing business in you'd rather ownthan rent."
Some might wonder why a student co-operative isthe business of renting property to an ice creamfranchise, or hawking neck massagers for thatmatter.
The answer is that it's all part of striking adelicate balance.
Murphy says managing the Coop is all aboutbalances: between big-ticket items and textbooks,between high rebates and low prices, betweendepartment store and student co-op.
So while the Coop may grow friendlier to thecustomer, it will remain an enigma in HarvardSquare and the retail industry.