Fresh off its first profitable year, in 2002, Varsity Books reported that sales in its first quarter ended March 31 rose 53%, to $1.2 million, and its net loss was trimmed to $444,000 from $465,000 in last year's first period.
The increase was attributed to an increase in Varsity's eduPartners program, in which the company serves as the online bookstore for private high schools and small colleges. At the end of the quarter, Varsity was operating online bookstores for more than 200 institutions compared to 120 last year. Varsity CEO Eric Kuhn said he hopes to have additional schools join the program before classes resume this fall. Kuhn added that the addition of more schools to eduPartners positions Varsity "to significantly improve upon our financial performance of 2002."
