7
MICHIGAN
THEATRES.
40 PLAYS.
ONE CLICK.
•
Ed and A.J. Davidson of Bivouac
Still Big Man
On Campus
METATHEATRES.ORG
Ed Davidson's Bivouac store marks 40th year at U-M.
Bill Carroll
Contributing Writer
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30
Ann Arbor
E
d Davidson arrived on the
University of Michigan campus
almost 40 years ago. He's still
there. He didn't flunk anything. In fact,
he already had graduated from college
before he got to Ann Arbor. He just want-
ed to start a little business and help pro-
vide students with "protestor clothing:'
In educational terms, Davidson, 62,
has "graduated" with high honors. He's
now the longest-standing merchant on
Ann Arbor's South State Street, operat-
ing Bivouac, one of the most popular
and successful stores in the city.
The word "bivouac" is basically a
military term, meaning "encampment
of soldiers for a short period of time."
Davidson has bivouacked in the heart of
the U-M campus since 1971, spreading
out over four previous storefronts on the
busy South State Street merchant row. He
has a built-in customer base among the
41,000 students in the charming college
town with a population of about 113,000.
Millions in Inventory
"We sell a large variety of high-quality
outdoor clothing and equipment with
an inventory worth millions of dol-
lars," said Davidson, a transplanted
Chicagoan, who came to Michigan from
Iowa. He operated an army surplus
store there after graduating from Iowa
University with a history degree.
"I wanted to get into a bigger and
busier campus, and I had some friends
in Ann Arbor who suggested this city,"
he explained. "I'm glad I picked Ann
Arbor as the place to settle down. It's a
great city, and we have many customers
among the students."
Davidson first opened a small
Bivouac store in 1971 on Williams
Street, where he literally lived inside the
store to save expenses. "You've heard of
mom and pop living above a store? Well,
I had a bed and a few pieces of furniture
inside the store. It was an easy com-
mute," he said.
Feeling a bit cramped, Davidson
took an apartment while moving the
business around the corner to State
Street a year later. "We first occupied
a small bank with 3,000 square feet, a
marble staircase and a huge basement
safe that's still there. When three more
storefronts became available, we broke
through the walls each time to achieve
the current 13,000 square feet."
By using a construction company?
"No',' he replied. "By using the strength
of some able-bodied students. We gave
them a sledge-hammer, then a free din-
ner afterward, and it worked out fine."
Students' Hair Got Shorter
With college student protests — about
almost anything — rampant in the
1960s and early 1970s, Davidson sold
them clothing in Iowa, then Ann Arbor.
"A typical protestor outfit was blue
jeans or field pants, a field jacket, and,
of course, long hair," Davidson said. "But
the protests slowed down over the years
and the hair got shorter. But we still sell
a lot of blue jeans.
"In fact, the blue jean business has
come full circle. Years ago, we rounded
up worn blue jeans from the Salvation
Army and other places and sold them
for $5 a piece. They were in pretty good
condition and didn't look too used. Now,
we sell jeans for $180 and they look