The name is the same, the faces at the registers are familiar, and you can still get a foamy cappuccino at the upstairs coffee bar. But behind the scenes, everything has changed at the Stanford Bookstore. On July 1, Follett Higher Education Group, the nation's largest operator of academic bookstores, took over management of the main store and its five satellites on campus and in Palo Alto. A 126-year-old firm based in Oak Brook, Ill., Follett already runs 585 college stores, including those at UC-Berkeley and Notre Dame.
The Bookstore's board began mulling a management change last year after trade book sales fell by 12 percent due to competition from online booksellers.
The move ended the store's 102-year run as an independent nonprofit firm. Students, faculty and administrators will have input through a new advisory committee, says Mariann Byerwalter, '82, the University's chief financial officer, who is overseeing the relationship with Follett.
The deal is certain to mean more money for Stanford. As an independent operation, the Bookstore had leased its facilities from Stanford. Under the new arrangement, Follett will lease the operation directly from the university and pay Stanford an undisclosed percentage of its sales. Last year the Bookstore's revenues were about $43 million.
Many Bookstore traditions, both old and new, will live on -- including the 7 percent rebate on textbooks, the Clinique cosmetics counter and the photo-developing service. Follett will add its own discount programs, including a "buy 10, get one free" offer on trade books.
Customers won't notice most changes, but a few outward improvements are planned, says James Baumann, president of the Follett Higher Education Group. These include a renovation of the main store, an expansion of the Bookstore's online presence and a wider availability of used books. "We are not a cookie-cutter organization," Baumann says, "There is only one Stanford, and the way we run those stores will absolutely reflect that."
