The big news at the National Association of College Stores annual meeting and CAMEX trade show being held in Kansas City, Mo., was the association's announcement that it is purchasing Connect2One, a division of Nebraska Book Company that is a buying group for some 625 college stores--the largest such buying group in the country.
In connection with the purchase, which is expected to be completed April 1, NACS is combining its NACS Media Solutions, OnCampus Research and NACS Business Development operations into a new subsidiary called indiCo, which will also include Connect2One.
indiCo will focus on retail innovation, merchandising strategy, data analytics, partnerships, research and more--all with an emphasis on helping institutional and independent college stores evolve and thrive.
Speaking at the NACS annual business meeting last Friday, NACS CEO Brian Cartier called the purchase and creation of indiCo "a bold step" that will have many benefits for independent college stores.
For his part, Neebo Inc. and Nebraska Book Company president and CEO Steve Clemente said, "For 25 years, Connect2One has helped its more than 625 college store members fill their shelves with items that appeal to the college crowd. Our company shares a very important goal with NACS--the long-term success of independent college stores."
Nebraska Book Company operates some 250 college stores, sells six million textbooks annually and has more than 1,600 technology platforms and e-commerce sites at more than 2,500 bookstores. The company recently donated $200,000 to the NACS Foundation, which was used to create the NACS Leadership Institute to train future college store leaders.
Nebraska Book Company filed for "pre-packaged" bankruptcy in 2011, restructured and emerged from bankruptcy last year.
