UWT to get a new bookstore. Here’s what we know so far about the operator, offerings
The University of Washington Tacoma announced this week that students will soon have a new place to shop for textbooks and university merchandise.
In an announcement posted online Tuesday, UWT Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange said she was “ thrilled to announce that we will soon have a new campus store on Pacific Avenue.”
UWT has signed an agreement with Follett Higher Education, a campus retailer that operates physical and online stores for more than 1,000 college and university campuses in the United States and Canada.
Under the new partnership, Follett will open and run the new UW Tacoma Shop at 1754 Pacific Ave., on the ground floor of the Garrettson, Woodruff & Pratt building on the UWT campus. The store also will have an online operation.
The store will be in the same location as the previous campus retailer, University Book Store, which closed its on-site store in January.
“Follett Higher Education will be UW Tacoma’s new partner for distribution of course materials and textbooks to students,” UWT said in a Wednesday release.
This is not Follett’s first entry into the regional retail market serving colleges and universities. According to UWT, it operates stores at 14 other public and private higher education institutions in the state. The other sites include Pierce College, Bellevue College, the Seattle Colleges, Seattle University, Gonzaga University and Washington State University.
“Follett’s innovative approach to campus retail, e-commerce capabilities and course materials affordability will build the foundation needed for a successful higher education experience for UW Tacoma students,” said Ken Pegram, vice president for western retail operations at Follett in Wednesday’s release.
“We are very excited about our new partnership with Follett,” said Lange. “Affordable, equitable access to current, high-quality course materials in formats from print to digital is at the center of our educational mission.”
Opening date will be announced soon, UWT said Wednesday. For now, Follett is working on the store’s design.
In addition to university course materials and textbooks, the physical and online store will offer UW and UWT-branded merchandise, “apparel, technology, general books and other categories of products relevant to the collegiate community,” according to the university.
Parent company Follett Corp. dates back to 1873, when its first used bookstore opened in Illinois. In February 2022, Follett Corp. announced the sale of its corporate entity as well as Follett Higher Education and Follett ACCESS business, to private investors led by Jefferson River Capital.
This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 1:26 PM.
