Despite Spin-Off, Coop Management Remains Constant

Barnes and Noble’s recent announcement that the company would divide its education and retail divisions into two separate publicly traded companies will not affect operations at The Harvard Coop, which is managed by Barnes and Noble.

General Manager of the Coop Allan E. Powell wrote in an emailed statement that, despite Barnes and Noble’s announcement, the management of the store would remain intact.

“With the recent announcement to spin off the College Store Division as a publicly traded company, we again do not expect any impact on our agreement,” Powell wrote. “The management of the College Division will remain in place so we do not expect to see any changes from current day to day operations.”

According to Powell, corporate changes like these are not new for Barnes and Noble. He added that, in Barnes and Noble’s 20-year tenure managing the Coop, changes in corporate structure have not substantially affected the store’s day-to-day operations.

“When we began our relationship in 1995, the College Store Division was a wholly owned subsidiary of B&N and was operated independent of B&N Inc.” Powell wrote. “In recent years, The College Store Division [was sold] to B&N Inc. When that occurred, the Coop saw no change in operations or the overall relationship.”

Barnes and Noble took over operations at The Coop in 1995, when an especially difficult financial year hit The Coop with a $200,000 deficit.

Barnes and Noble now operates 714 campus bookstores nationwide. It has announced that the separation of its education and retail divisions should be completed by August 2015.

—Staff writer Samuel Vasquez can be reached at samuel.vasquez@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @svasquez14.