Anyone have an update on the portfolio stores Follett is leveraging? Many of those campuses had to make a decision this month to move to Access or Follett would pull out of the contract.
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Follett operates stores that we lose money at because even a losing store helps pay for the home office. Many stores that are losing money, would not be losing money if you eliminated the home office prorates. And let's be honest those prorates never decline. If they close a store, the home office expense would still be there and have to be absorbed by other stores.
The RM in this region is aggressively pushing for ACCESS & has been for months at our school but so far the school is resisting to the point of going AWOL!
Sooooo no, none of you have information. That would have been sufficient. If you read your contracts, Follett has a 120 day termination notice clause. That is up this month. They are using this month to leverage the schools because schools have no clue what goes on into buying books for students.
You speak as though Follett, as a company, behaves logically and makes sound business decisions. They do not. The sooner you see that, the sooner you can understand the choices they make.
Why would Follett continue to manage stores at a loss for any client university? Every service provider in this industry gives schools ultimatums, such as requiring them to go All Access, when the agreement is no longer financially beneficial to both the school and the company. This business is difficult enough, without running stores at a loss, while paying the client a commission. Almost every contract has a cancellation for convenience clause. Your distaste for your employer is fogging your brains. Or, you’re just naive. Follett may be a mess, but too many of you have FDS. Get help.
Texas A&M San Antonio just cancelled their Follett Access program: https://mesquite-news.com/university-ends-jaguar-day-one-program/
I highly doubt Follett is pulling out of contracts. They're going to try to save money in the short term by laying off all the PT staff at all the stores, as well as furloughing a bunch of HO staff. I'm not a lawyer, but I would imagine there are a lot of legal ramifications to breaking contract, and I doubt Follett has the resources for that. I think this whole scheme was a bluff and a lot of schools saw through that.
Someone had previously mentioned that St Norbert was one that was closing but their bookstore site is still up. This may be a ridiculous question but we're fresh into December - do we think Follett has the balls to pull out of any contract 1 month before the start of a term (non quarter schools)?
Let's all hope that the "served" institutions will tell Follett to go to Hell!