USC Bookstores

What USC Bookstores does

USC Bookstores is the official retail operation of the University of Southern California, operating under the legal name University of Southern California Bookstore and DBA "USC Bookstores" with the sub-brand "The Student Store on the Campus." Founded in 2017, the entity is wholly owned by USC and runs a direct-to-consumer retail business across three physical campus locations — the main University Park store at 840 Childs Way, the Health Science Campus store at 1969 Zonal Ave, and the Norris HC3 Gift Store at 1516 San Pablo Street — all in Los Angeles. The business serves current USC students, alumni, parents, Trojan sports fans, families with children, and USC faculty.

The product portfolio spans licensed apparel and accessories (with Nike as a primary athletic partner), entertainment co-branded collections (Disney, Marvel, Peanuts/Snoopy, Star Wars, Hello Kitty), exclusive sub-brands such as the Heritage Collection (a scholarship-funded line), USC Trojan Basics, USC Dad/Mom and Graduation collections, academic textbooks and digital course materials, campus technology products, home and gift items, souvenirs, and game-day fan gear. Pricing spans $11.95 to $189.00 across the catalog, with free standard shipping on orders over $125 and a $25 e-gift card denomination.

The technology platform is NetSuite SuiteCommerce, evidenced by SuiteCommerce image paths and NetSuite-style URL structures. The go-to-market is purely direct-to-consumer, combining campus retail foot traffic with a nationwide e-commerce site (uscbookstore.com), email capture offering 15% off first purchase, and organic social presence on Instagram and Facebook. Revenue mechanics are one-time transaction retail across merchandise, textbook, and gift card sales. Strategic partnerships include Nike, Athletes Thread for NIL merchandise, Blue 84 for Disney-licensed manufacturing, and the Heritage Scholarship program linking merchandise proceeds to undergraduate financial aid. No AI/ML, app, API, or M&A activity is documented.

Name

USC Bookstores

Legal name

University of Southern California Bookstore

Website

https://uscbookstore.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

USC Bookstores is the University of Southern California's official campus bookstore, operating three on-campus retail locations and the uscbookstore.com e-commerce site to sell licensed Trojan apparel, licensed entertainment co-brands, textbooks, and gifts to students, alumni, parents, and Trojan fans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

University Bookstore Retail

NAICS

Book Retailers and News Dealers (45921), Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Retailers (4594), Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Retail-Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores (5940)

akta.pro primary industry

Campus Bookstore-Adjacent Retail (Snacks, Beverages, Essentials) (EDALADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Textbooks & Academic Books Retail (CRALAAAC), General Bookstores (New Books) (CRALAAAA)

Keywords

• University bookstore retail
• Licensed collegiate merchandise
• Campus apparel and gifts
• Academic textbooks and supplies
• Licensed apparel collections

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Merchandise Sales: One-time transaction sales of apparel, accessories, home goods, and souvenirs featuring USC branding and licensed intellectual property from partners like Disney, Marvel, Peanuts, and Nike.
2. Gift Cards: Electronic gift cards sold in fixed denominations ($25 e-gift card available), providing stored value for future purchases.
3. Textbook and Academic Supplies: Academic materials including textbooks and technology for USC students, with textbook adoptions system for faculty.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

USC Bookstores operates the official retail bookstore of the University of Southern California, selling USC-branded and licensed apparel, accessories, home goods, souvenirs, textbooks, and campus technology through three physical campus stores in Los Angeles and an e-commerce website (uscbookstore.com). The assortment includes exclusive sub-brand collections such as the Heritage Collection (supporting USC scholarships), USC Trojan Basics, and licensed co-branded collaborations with Nike, Disney, Marvel, Peanuts, Star Wars, Hello Kitty, and Aviator Nation.

Product overview

USC Bookstores operates as an official university bookstore and e-commerce platform serving the University of Southern California community. The platform is built on NetSuite's SuiteCommerce infrastructure and offers a comprehensive range of products organized into several key areas: Men's, Women's, Kids', and Home & Gifts categories featuring licensed USC apparel and merchandise. The product portfolio includes exclusive sub-brands such as the Heritage Collection (which supports student scholarships), USC Trojan Basics (fundamental everyday apparel), and USC Dad/Mom/Graduation collections. Additionally, the store features licensed collaborations with major brands including Disney, Marvel, Peanuts, Star Wars, Hello Kitty, Aviator Nation, and Warren Lotus. For students, the bookstore provides academic textbooks, digital course materials, and technology products. Gift cards are available in $25 e-gift card denominations. The store also offers free shipping on orders over $125.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Heritage Collection: A collection that donates a portion of proceeds to the Heritage Scholarship for USC undergraduate students based on academic achievement and financial need
• USC Trojan Basics
• USC Dad Collection

Products and services

• USC Trojan Basics Collection

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Athletes Thread (NIL Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShop by sport feature connecting customers to official NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) styles from athletes. Supports current USC players through licensed merchandise purchases.
• NikecoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary athletic apparel and footwear partner. Extensive Nike product lines including Dri-FIT performance wear, football/basketball jerseys, and Nike Golf apparel. Multiple exclusive USC Trojan branded Nike collections.
• Heritage Scholarship ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeritage Collection donates portion of proceeds to Heritage Scholarship supporting USC undergraduate students based on academic achievement and financial need. Scholarship is renewable throughout recipients' education.
• DisneyminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerUSC x Disney licensed merchandise collection featuring Disney-branded USC apparel and accessories.
• Peanuts (Snoopy)minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerUSC x Peanuts licensed collection featuring Snoopy and Peanuts characters in USC Trojan designs. Includes Snoopy Football Team merchandise.
• MarvelminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerUSC x Marvel licensed merchandise featuring Marvel superhero characters in USC designs.
• Star WarsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerUSC x Star Wars licensed collection featuring Star Wars characters and imagery in USC Trojan branded merchandise.
• Hello KittyminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerUSC x Hello Kitty licensed merchandise collection featuring Sanrio's Hello Kitty in USC designs.
• Aviator NationminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerUSC x Aviator Nation collaboration featuring the brand's signature retro, all-American aesthetic in USC Trojan colors.
• Blue 84minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerManufacturer for USC Disney licensed merchandise. Produces Disney-branded USC Trojan apparel.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UCLA Store: The official bookstore and licensed merchandise retailer for UCLA, a fellow major Los Angeles private university. Operates a comparable mix of textbooks, licensed apparel, gifts, and athletics merchandise with similar institutional backing and customer segments, making it the closest direct competitor in the same metro and category.
• Stanford Bookstore: Official bookstore of Stanford University, another elite private university. Offers an analogous product mix of textbooks, branded apparel, and gifts with similar institutional ownership and premium licensing partnerships, and competes for the same high-affinity alumni fan base in online channels.

Broad incumbents

• Barnes & Noble College: Operates campus bookstores for hundreds of U.S. colleges and universities under contract. As a broad incumbent in campus retail, it offers comparable textbook, apparel, and gift programs at scale and competes for institutional contracts that could otherwise be served by in-house operations like USC Bookstores.
• Follett Higher Education: Runs one of the largest networks of college stores in North America through the Bkstr brand. Provides similar textbooks, course materials, branded apparel, and spirit merchandise at scale, and is a direct institutional alternative to university-operated stores like USC Bookstores.
• Fanatics: Dominant online retailer of licensed sports apparel, headwear, and memorabilia for collegiate and professional teams. Operates official college storefronts and competes for the same USC fan and alumni apparel dollars through its national e-commerce reach and licensing scale.
• Nebraska Book Company: Operates campus bookstores and wholesale textbook services for hundreds of U.S. colleges. Offers textbook rental, digital course materials, and branded merchandise programs comparable to those of USC Bookstores, and competes in the same institutional RFP pipeline.
• Amazon: Broad e-commerce incumbent carrying new and used textbooks, licensed USC apparel, and a wide range of home and gift merchandise. Competes with USC Bookstores primarily on convenience, selection, and shipping speed across the same product categories.

Emerging players

• Lululemon: Premium athletic apparel brand that is both a merchandising partner (shop-by-brand listing on uscbookstore.com) and a competitor for premium athleisure spending by students, alumni, and Trojan fans. Comparable in category overlap where USC Bookstores carries performance apparel.

Others

• Under Armour: Performance athletic apparel brand listed as a shop-by-brand partner on the USC Bookstore site. Directly comparable product assortment in performance wear and fan apparel, and competes in the same premium athletic apparel category.
• Champion: Heritage athletic apparel brand featured in the USC Trojan Basics collection. Offers overlapping casual athletic apparel and licensed collegiate products, and competes for similar student and alumni casual wear spending.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/USCBookstores
• Instagraminstagram.com/uscbookstore
• Xx.com/uscbookstore
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/usc-bookstores

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about USC Bookstores