Follett Acquires Wobo, Inc., BookVolume
Acquisition positions Follett Wholesale to provide more efficient book sourcing for independent managed campus stores
WESTCHESTER, Ill., March 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Follett Corporation today announced that the company has acquired Wobo, Inc. (formerly Woody's Books, Inc.), a leading service for independent managed campus stores to find and purchase books online in volume. The acquisition includes Wobo, Inc. assets including the BookVolume tool, enabling Follett Wholesale to leverage new technology in transforming the Wholesale business.
A greater transition of Follett's Wholesale business began in late 2015 with the introduction of new leadership and its official segmentation from Follett Higher Education Group. As a stand-alone business, Follett Wholesale commits to leveraging the financial stability and strength of Follett to evolve the Wholesale business and meet the rapidly changing needs of its independent store partners and their students.
"We have an engaged group ready to bring fresh ideas to the market," said John Lausas, Senior Vice President of Strategic Sourcing and Distribution for Follett. "As the industry evolves, it's critical to make online book sourcing easier. BookVolume allows Follett to do just that by delivering more books for our store partners resulting in better prices for their students."
In addition to technology, Follett also gains new expertise including Wobo, Inc. Founder, President and CEO Woody Hunt. Hunt joins Follett as vice president of Wholesale IT Development.
"Working closely with Follett since 2009, I have felt like a member of the Follett team for many years so I'm excited to make it official," said Hunt. "I see more opportunity in our industry today than any time in my career. Together with Follett, I believe our combined team and products are going to bring maximum value to our customers and partners."
For more information about Follett Wholesale, visit www.Follett.com/wholesale; for more information about Wobo, Inc. and BookVolume, go to www.bookvolume.com.
About Wobo, Inc. | bookvolume.com
Founded in 2004, Wobo, Inc. (Woody's Books, Inc.) began as an online vendor of books, cds and dvds. Selling through various online marketplaces provided Wobo, Inc. the foundation to expand into offering software solutions in and out of the book industry. The company portfolio now includes everything from custom inventory management systems, to procurement software including the popular BookVolume tool, to industry-leading consulting and application development services.
About Follett Corporation | Follett.com
For more than 140 years, Follett has been a trusted partner to pre-K and K-12 schools, districts, and college campuses, taking care of the critical details that make it easier for schools to run, teachers to teach and students to learn. Every day, Follett serves over half of the students in the United States, and works with 70,000 schools as a leading provider of education technology, services and print and digital content. Follett is higher education's largest campus retailer and a hub for school spirit and community, operating more than 1,250 local campus stores and 1,700 virtual stores across the continent. Headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, Follett is a $2.6 billion privately held company.
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SOURCE Follett Corporation
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