Urban Outfitters opened in select College bookstores across the country for the 2019/2020 school year. UConn is one of seven universities selected to receive monthly shipments of new merchandise form the Urban Outfitters chain. Photos by Erin Knapp / The Daily Campus.
The Urban Outfitters and Barnes and Noble College partnership provides college students with a one-of-a- kind retail experience at the University of Connecticut, Lisa Malat, chief operating officer at Barnes and Noble College, said.
The Barnes and Noble College’s partnership with Urban Outfitters is currently at 10 campus bookstores around the country, Malat said. The collaboration allows Urban Outfitters to sell their top-trending items in the UConn bookstore, therefore directly connecting to the college population.
“With Urban Outfitters being one of the most popular brands among college students, we felt confident that UConn students would appreciate the convenience of bringing the merchandise directly to their bookstore, especially considering the closest Urban Outfitters to UConn’s campus is 30 miles away,” Malat said.
With all of the partnership stores, Urban Outfitters sells a wide range of products, such as home decor, women’s and men’s fashion, beauty products and accessories, Malat said. Although similar to the products sold in the standalone Urban Outfitter stores, the partnership was chosen according to the items that they thought would be most liked by college students.
The Barnes and Noble College works to promote the partnership by offering special Urban Outfitters promotions and sweepstakes for student shoppers, Malat said.
Initial feedback from UConn customers has been “very positive,” Malat said. With the partnership, they are constantly working to make sure that it stays that way.
“At [Barnes and Noble College], we’re constantly working to ensure our campus bookstores match the retail and shopping experience our student customers expect,” Malat said.
The partnership began Aug. 1, 2019 and is currently planned to stay in the UConn location until the end of the 2020 school year.
Rachel Philipson is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at rachel.philipson@uconn.edu.
