Follett Virtual Bookstores | Career Colleges | About Us
Our Past:
Charles Follett had a mission to change academia. Starting in 1873 as a small bookstore in Wheaton, Illinois, Follett has grown into the largest educational bookseller in America. In April of 1999, Follett Higher Education Group was formed by integrating Follett Campus Resources and Follett College Stores. Follett continues to expand with sales over $2.5 billion. One aspect of our business remains the same: Follett Corporation is a family-owned operation. That’s why we stress the family values of education, hard work and achievement.
Our Present:
Growing into a $2.5 billion enterprise is quite an accomplishment, but not the only one that distinguishes Follett from our competitors. Notable accolades and milestones include:
- A ranking of 133 out of 500 in the Forbes Magazine listing of the largest private companies in the United States.
- A ranking of 12th in Crain's Chicago Business listing of the largest private firms in Illinois.
- With over 850 stores, we are the largest operator of college bookstores in North America.
- Stocking over 295,000 titles, we are the industry's largest wholesaler of used books to higher education.
- Follett pioneered selling textbooks online in 1995 and introduced efollett.com in 1999, which now serves more than 1,500 campuses nationwide.
- Through Follett's "click and mortar" approach to products and services, more than four million students and 375,000 faculty are annually served.
- Follett currently manages over 4 million square feet of bookstore space.
Our Vision:
To help all stores become world class, academic retailers.
Our Mission:
To support higher education by being the preeminent provider of academic and collegiate products and services.
Our Future:
Follett is poised for the future of textbooks and course materials. We have invested in the digital delivery of textbooks with the acquisition of Fourteen40 Corp., a leading provider of digital course materials content and the developers of CaféScribe, a unique social networking and eBook platform that enhances the educational experience with online note-taking, note-sharing and collaboration. With Follett Virtual Bookstores, we leverage our rich history and deep expertise for the K-12, online, career and proprietary education markets. Put Follett- and our history- to work for you. |
