RESULTS BEYOND ARCHITECTURE
SELLING SPIRIT
HIGHER SALES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
Photo courtesy of Gisele Rivera
FANS FOR LIFE
Campus stores play a vital role in shaping cultures of community engagement at the intersection of learning and lifestyle. From spirited retail shops, to vibrant dining, to game-day brand activations, Little’s retail design practice creates environments and experiences that are visually compelling, operationally efficient, and deeply tied to your school’s spirit.
For students, faculty, alumni, visitors, and fans alike, every visit is a chance to connect with your school. Drawing on global expertise, we craft environments that move more product, more oftenthrough smart adjacencies, curated selections, storytelling that sells, and graphics that honor your school’s heritage and future.
From their first visit to their return for homecoming, our campus store experiences invite people in, spark school pride, and make them feel at home.
Scan the QR code to discover more about Collegiate Retail at Little
THE CARDINAL SHOP AT THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY
Washington, DC 14,000 sf
New name, new look, and new experience built on impressive history.
Located on the ground floor of the newly-renovated Edward J. Pryzbyla Center, The Cardinal Shop Spirit Store is a compact and vibrant retail experience for students, faculty, alumni, and visitors. With a new store name and logotype, and bold graphic communications, Catholic University’s heritage and nostalgia is celebrated to deepen the emotional connections that drive purchases.
Leveraging legacy creates immersive branding
A bold cardinal graphic behind the Cardinal Shop’s cash wrap commands attention, reinforcing school pride at first glance. Vibrant school colors, thematic displays, archival photos and memorabilia transform the shop into a tribute to Catholic University’s legacy, creating an emotional connection for students, alumni, and visitors alike.
UNIVERSITY CO-OP
Austin, TX
30,000 sf
A winning story for an independent campus store deep in the heart of Texas.
One of the nation’s oldest and largest independent campus store brands is built on purpose. “Every Penny of Profit Goes Directly to Course Material Scholarships” is the Co-op’s promise that makes them such a beloved member of the Longhorn community. To build on this purpose, Little’s design team developed a massive chandelier made of cowbells that guests are invited to ring when donating over $100 to support the Co-op’s purpose.
Scan the QR code to see the transformation and sales results of the new University Co-op.
Design that Performs: Save Space & Build Business
The hat wall at the Co-op is expansive — and with up to 10,000 visitors every game day, the redesign and expansion make it easier for more Longhorns to shop and browse.
The custom jersey shop became the store’s largest single increase in sales during its first season, prompting us to double its size for the second season. By dedicating space and layering in displays, demonstrations, and variety, we created a true destination for fans.
Reconfiguring the transaction area freed up enough space to introduce a new souvenir department, showing how thoughtful design can make room for more of what customers love.
BLOOMSBURG
UNIVERSITY
BOOKSTORE
Bloomsburg, PA
7,325 sf
A spirited campus store with the energy of convenience.
The bookstore creates a dynamic and flexible experience that excites students and visitors. Bloomsburg’s core attributes of “inspired, diverse and engaged” are reflected in this unique combination of spirit shop, bookstore and convenience mart in one. The concept exceeds expectation through double-digit increases in sales and frequency of visits.
In a campus store or spirit shop, visual noise can create challenges with signage and wayfinding.
Little’s Brand Experience Studio partnered with our retail design team to create a graphic and interiors palette to ensure the finishes and accented graphics and signage emphasized the interior design. Visual displays and crossmerchandising were used to bring the brand to life, keeping the environmental graphics clean and subtle. The fixture systems allowed for ease and flexibility in seasonal assortments and graphic messaging.
DAVIDSON COLLEGE STORE
Davidson, NC 6,000 sf
Elevating school pride while creating an improved shopping experience.
The first impression for visitors, particularly those considering attending this “Hidden Ivy” school, is derived from their arrival on Main Street.
Davidson College acquired an existing, campusadjacent, two-story building perfectly positioned for its new campus store. Our strategy focused on bringing the visual excitement of wellknown branded retail to a collegiate setting and merchandising a broad product array to drive retail sales, celebrate the rich heritage and traditions, and unite the town and gown community.
THE CORNER SUPE STORE: THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
Tuscaloosa, AL
15,857 sf
A store that matches the irrefutable scale of Alabama’s pride.
Little embraced Alabama’s Roll Tide spirit with a fully curated fixture design and visual merchandising program that supported the industrial architecture of the new building adjacent to Bryant-Denny Stadium. That Bama spirit unfolds at every turn throughout the customer journey with mannequins and visuals to help guide the eye and suggestively sell. Game Day and every day, this space echoes reclaimed history and modern retailing to maximize sales throughout the year.
BEYOND COLLEGIATE RETAIL
Little shares an in-depth knowledge of what students need and want. Our projects prioritize convenience, community, and comfort—creating spaces where students can recharge, connect, and thrive.
MARKET PLACE
Charlotte, NC
Market Place transforms the traditional grab-andgo convenience store into a boutique-style experience.
Designed for ease and calm, the space offers busy travelers at Charlotte Douglas Airport a seamless, stress-free shopping environment while complementing the architectural vision of Terminal A’s expansion. A carefully curated layout ensures intuitive navigation, strategically placed fixtures and self-checkout options, creating a model of efficiency that translates to high-traffic collegiate settings. Warm materials and locally inspired design elements, including biophilic touches, create a welcoming ambiance that establishes a strong, memorable brand presence within the bustling airport.
JUST SALAD
Charlotte, NC
1,823 sf
A quick, casual dining experience focused on providing healthy, sustainable food.
Located within a mixed-use development in the heart of a dynamic shopping district, this Just Salad eatery maximizes space, street-level visibility and operations. With a portion of the space situated beneath a parking garage, Little’s design team used an abundance of glass at the street-side entrance to provide high visibility and incorporated natural materials that reinforce Just Salad’s mission focused on health and sustainability. The space includes indoor and outdoor seating, helping to give this next generation development a new destination for healthy eating - a flexible dining model that easily translates to vibrant campus environments.
CHICK-FIL-A
New York, NY
From remodel programs to environmental graphics for a new all-mobile, ‘grab and go’ store, the nimble partnership between Little and Chick-fil-A focuses on supporting the moments of delight.
Little’s partnership with Chick-fil-A began with design sprints to evolve the restaurant’s Visual Identity System, creating memorable, authentic experiences that strengthen guests connections. Guided by exploration and consistency, our team upholds the unified brand while supporting expansion into new space types, digital experiences, and market prototypes—solutions well-suited for collegiate environments. From prototyping Mobile Order Drive-Thru and Walk-Up experiences to rethinking store flow, our designs prioritize convenience, community, and comfort, giving students spaces to recharge, connect, and thrive by mobilizing the queue and simplifying their day.
Orlando, FL
1,100 sf
Creating positive friction in the community to connect the neighborhood, live the brand promise and serve as a catalyst for change.
Located in the heart of a healthcare village, this coffee shop incorporates a “name your price” menu to support their community of coffee growers and incubate local start-up businesses — a missiondriven approach that aligns naturally with today’s Gen Z students focused on social impact and entrepreneurship. The highly visible 20’x20’x20’‘cube within a cube’ concept provides a mezzanine space for visitors to dwell or host events while creating a racetrack below for faster paced foot traffic.
CREDO
CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY: STUDENT UNION
Buies Creek, NC 113,000 sf
Developed to replace an undersized student center, this facility also serves as the hub of student life at the university by blending the academic experience with social opportunities.
It joins the “Academic Circle”, located at the heart of the campus, and offers amenities such as an 800-person gathering hall, several dining facilities, including an outdoor dining area and a fitness facility. The mix of seating options from high-capacity to intimate and cozy provides students the option to socially engage or quietly retreat. The site for this new student union was chosen for its visibility from a main thoroughfare and its adjacency to a pedestrian path leading from student housing on the south campus.
Graphics and wayfinding work seamlessly as functional elements of the environment, while studentnamed amenities and dining venues bring school pride to life beyond just a logo.
Warm tones soften large open spaces, creating a welcoming atmosphere with plenty of room for activity. Reflecting the desertinspired identity of Campbell, home of the Camels, the student-named spirit shop was rebranded as the Bazaar, adding a unique and meaningful touch to the destination.
Students provided Campbell “inside jokes” to incorporate into the
Spirit Shop mural.
TRUE RUNNER
Multiple Locations 3,974 sf
Connecting with the heart of the community to unify the runner experience through a new brand.
Uber-enthusiastic runners search for expertise, the latest in product technology and customized experiences. True Runner, developed in partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, represents a brand and retail store that is supported by a layer of integrated digital solutions to enhance the branded experience, improve service delivery, promote social conversation and establish signature moments. Its community-centric model offers clear potential for collegiate recreation environments where athletics and retail converge.
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