Ownership and Structure

ICBA Business Structure, Methods and Principles

OWNERSHIP - The stores own ICBA.

QUALIFICATIONS - Membership in ICBA is open to any independent store in the United States and Canada. By independent we mean institutional, as distinguished from private and leased stores. ICBA is the only organization in the industry dedicated exclusively to independent stores.

MISSION - ICBA's core commitment is to provide the programs and services that will establish the institutional store model as the preferred management solution for higher education.

PERFORMANCE - ICBA recognizes our core business as creating cooperative retail solutions for our owners.

CONTROL - A Corporate Board of Directors elected by the owners, from among the owners, governs ICBA.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE - ICBA discloses to member management all aspects of all agreements and discussions entered into on behalf of our members, except when prohibited by vendor-required confidentiality. Executive Board disclosure will be complete.

PRINCIPLES - ICBA's principles of business include the highest professional and ethical actions, a "level playing field" for vendor competition, with primary consideration given to how vendor proposals contribute directly to the stores' success.

DECISION MAKING - ICBA designs our merchandise and service programs with direct input from buyers through their participation as decision makers, vendor performance evaluators, beta test groups, focus groups and similar activities.

OPEN COMPETITION - ICBA's process and methodology for vendor selection includes open decision-making, quality, price and value analysis, and the encouragement and opportunity for vendor initiatives.