On the eve of the opening of the 2011 Campus Market Expo in Houston, Tex., the National Association of College Stores announced that it will partner with online textbook company, BookRenter (www.BookRenter.com). Through NACSCORP, the association’s wholesale distributor subsidiary, NACS will offer three BookRenter services to its 3,100 members: RapidReturn, which enables students to return textbook rentals to a NACS store; inventory purchase and fulfillment, which allows NACS stores to sell inventory to any BookRenter partner store’s customer from its shelves; and local warehousing, which turns NACS stores into local BookRenter warehouses. The services are aimed at increasing both foot traffic and textbook revenue for NACS members.
“While the online textbook rental market is exploding, students prefer to support their college stores,” said NACSCORP president and COO Kurt K. Schoen in a prepared statement. “Our innovative partnership with BookRenter enables college stores to offer essential services to students at the lowest possible cost and with the highest degree of service, increasing customers’ loyalty to their local stores while positioning the stores for long-term success.”
In other BookRenter news, the three-year-old company, which offers students textbook rentals for up to 75% off the retail price, received $40 million in Series C financing from Adams Capital Management, Comerica Bank, Focus Ventures, Lighthouse Capital Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, and Storm Ventures.
