Open Forum

I work for the Army Historical Foundation, which manages the Museum Store for the National Museum of the United States Army through a contract with a Museum Store vendor. Our contract is ending next year and we are strategizing next steps that may include us managing the store ourselves (to help us earn more revenue as we only get a portion from our contract), but we're looking for anyone who would help give us some extra insight into preferred retail/inventory software and systems as well as any challenges anyone has had managing their own store vs. running through a contracted vendor. Thank you for any help.

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Kathleen Lugarich
Senior Director, Historical Initiatives and Educational Development
Army Historical Foundation
Fort Belvoir VA
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Hi Kathleen,

We're one week out from opening our brand‑new building, and we've had to build our gift shop completely from scratch since the 45th ID Association was no longer able to manage it. Since we don't have a dedicated store manager yet, I was asked to get things moving. It's all been pretty last‑minute, and the shop won't be ready for the grand opening; we're expecting a 6–8 week delay while our custom merchandise is produced and shipped. For anyone in a similar situation, I recommend looking into Square or another modern POS system. Square includes free built‑in inventory tools like real‑time stock tracking, low‑stock alerts, CSV imports, and an easy-to-use item catalog. I've also found Faire (www.faire.com) to be a great resource for wholesale merchandise; it's essentially Etsy for wholesale buyers. I'm sure others here can offer deeper insight into running a shop in‑house versus contracting it out, but truly, it's more achievable than it seems, especially if you have enough lead time. 

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Kendra Reid-Bossig
Senior Curator & Historian
Oklahoma National Guard Museum
Oklahoma City, OK
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Hello Kathleen,

Point of Sale systems are a hot topic within the Museum Store Association. We've been working to provide a bit of a directory where POS system companies complete surveys that are then filed as a resource for MSA members. The MSA cannot endorse any specific system, and not every prominent company has submitted a survey response, but both that directory and the list of survey questions can help jump-start a search. 

The MSA also has some resources about the transition from concessionaire to self-management, namely this recording of a conference session from 2023, that used the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum as a case study. Spoiler alert: self-management both increased revenue for the museum and mission-alignment for the store.

Feel free to reach out to me at joseph@posterhouse.org if you want more info. 

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Joseph Brichacek
Shop Director
Poster House
New York NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 6/5/2026 10:01:00 AM
From: Joseph Brichacek
Subject: RE: Museum Store Management Software for Retail and Inventory Plus Other Tips

Hello Kathleen,

Point of Sale systems are a hot topic within the Museum Store Association. We've been working to provide a bit of a directory where POS system companies complete surveys that are then filed as a resource for MSA members. The MSA cannot endorse any specific system, and not every prominent company has submitted a survey response, but both that directory and the list of survey questions can help jump-start a search. 

The MSA also has some resources about the transition from concessionaire to self-management, namely this recording of a conference session from 2023, that used the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum as a case study. Spoiler alert: self-management both increased revenue for the museum and mission-alignment for the store.

Feel free to reach out to me at joseph@posterhouse.org if you want more info. 

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Joseph Brichacek
Shop Director
Poster House
New York NY
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Kathleen,

I second Joseph's recommendation and urge you to consider joining the Museum Store Association (MSA) www.museumstoreassociation.org as it is a great place to learn more about self-governing your retail store with everything from point of sales software to finding a store manager to vendors who work specifically with museum stores and understand our unique boundaries.  Managing your own store allows your organization to curate the merchandise rather than a contracted for-profit entity - think logoed lava lamps at an 19th century living history museum rather than hand dipped candles, and there is the added benefit of keeping all the proceeds. Your chapter of the MSA is the Mid-Atlantic. Their leadership would be a good resource for information about what is available in your area. In my experience, 40 + years in various museums, MSA members are more than willing to help a fellow museum in any way possible. 

Also, feel free to contact me if you need any further assistance.

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Rebecca Petrie
Retail Manager
Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum Seminole Tribe of Florida
Clewiston FL
rebeccapetrie@semtribe.com
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Hi Kathleen

My firm is a F&B/retail consultancy that specializes in museums. I am working on the new Navy Museum and have been in touch with your colleague Mark Morrin. We work with contract operated and self-operated stores. I can give you some pointers to think about as you make this decision. Let me know if we can find 30 minute to connect.

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Tracy Lawler
President
JGL Consultants
Princeton NJ
Tracy@jglconsultants.com(732) 274-1694
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