Follett Corporation - History

History

In 1901, C.W. Follett began working as a stock clerk for a small mail-order book company in Chicago, C.M. Barnes & Company, which had been founded in 1873 by Charles M. Barnes. In 1902, Barnes retired, and his son William took over the company. By now the company had evolved into a wholesaler, selling used books throughout the Midwest.

In 1908, John Wilcox, William Barnes' father-in-law became the majority shareholder and the company was renamed C.M. Barnes - Wilcox Company. In 1912 Follett became vice president. In 1917 Barnes sold his remaining interest in the company to John Wilcox. (Later that year he would travel to New York to partner with G. Clifford Noble and found Barnes & Noble)

In 1918 Follett took over management as Wilcox was nearing retirement, and the company was again renamed, this time to J.W. Wilcox & Follett Company.

John Wilcox died in 1923 and the following year, C.W. Follett and his wife, Edythe, purchased the company. During the next two years, C.W. Follett’s three oldest sons—R.D. (Bob), Garth and Dwight—joined the family business. C.W.'s youngest son Laddie, who was still in grade school, joined the company in 1930.

During the next two decades, C.W.'s sons infused the company with ideas and enthusiasm, helping the company to evolve and grow. In 1925, Dwight founded the Follett Publishing Company. In 1930, R.D. Follett founded the Follett College Book Company and began wholesaling used textbooks to professors and college bookstores. The following year, R.D. established the company’s first retail bookstore on a college campus outside of Chicago. And in 1940, Garth Follett created Follett Library Book Company. Laddie Follett ran the company’s original business – Wilcox & Follett – from 1952 until 1986.

When C.W. Follett died in 1952 at the age of 70, Dwight Follett succeeded his father as chairman. The company continued to grow and was renamed Follett Corporation in 1957. The company is still known by that name today.

In 1998, Follett associates celebrated the company’s 125th anniversary. To strengthen the company’s ability to meet the needs of its customers, Follett aligned its various business units under three market groups: Higher Education, Elementary and High Schools and Libraries.

In 2000, Christopher Traut was elected President and Chief Executive Officer of Follett Corporation. In addition, Follett’s three core market groups were combined to form Follett Higher Education Group and Follett Library and School Group.

In 2010, Traut retired and Chuck Follett was promoted to CEO.

Today, Follett generates consolidated sales exceeding $2.7 billion and employs nearly 10,000 associates throughout the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world.

Follett was ranked #155 in Forbes’ list of largest private companies for 2010. As of 2012 it is listed as #58 on Internet Retailer’s Top 500 list, with 9.2% sales growth on their efollett.com website in 2010. Follett added more than 50 stores in 2011, and now manages nearly 1,000 locations across the United States and Canada.

In 2011 Follett also opened its new Distribution Center of approximately 550,000 square feet in Aurora, Illinois. Moving to the new Distribution Center will increase processing capacity to 16 million units annually and is expected to bring 200 – 400 jobs to Aurora.