An Urban Outfitters pop-up shop has arrived to Mississippi State University’s Barnes and Noble bookstore. This shop is part of a company-wide initiative between Barnes and Noble and Urban Outfitters to get students more involved with both companies.
MSU is one of only 10 colleges in the United States, and one of two colleges in Mississippi, that was given the opportunity to collaborate with Urban Outfitters. Urban Outfitters reached out to MSU a few months ago to participate in this selective partnership.
The Urban Outfitters section of the store opened before the fall semester began, and is expected to stay in the store until next summer. Although it is new, the Urban Outfitters section of the store is anticipated to become extremely popular among students. Alec Hammel, an employee at Barnes and Noble, said he is excited about the new addition.
“I think it will bring a lot of new and different types of customers in to shop,” Hammel said.
With football season arriving, there is expected to be a large number of people shopping in the store on game days, who will be attracted to this new section.
The pop-up shop offers a wide variety, but not a complete inventory of products, that would be seen in a stand-alone Urban Outfitters store. Some of the items offered include men’s and women’s clothing, tech products and cosmetics. The line also includes kitchenware such as mini waffle makers, reusable food containers and mugs along with various home decor items including blankets, rugs and decor.
With the closest stand-alone Urban Outfitters located in Birmingham, Alabama, this section will be very convenient for students who enjoy shopping at Urban Outfitters, but are unable to make the two hour drive.
Rachel Dumke, a senior kinesiology major and frequent Urban Outfitters shopper, expressed her excitement for the store’s arrival.
“I’m super excited to check out the section in Barnes and Noble because I don’t really like shopping online, so I’m excited about being able to go in the store and look around. I usually can only go to Urban Outfitters when I go home, so it will be great to have this close by,” Dumke said.
The Urban Outfitters collaboration has already proven to be popular among students. Allen Fortenberry, manager of the Barnes and Noble, reported with school starting back, many students who have come to Barnes and Noble shopping for textbooks and school supplies noticed the new Urban Outfitters products. This line is expected to bring a new type of clientele into Barnes and Noble who are looking to shop for items beyond supplies for their classes.
Barnes and Noble staff members are also anticipating great things from this collaboration. Allen Fortenberry, assistant store manager at Barnes and Noble, said he is very excited about this opportunity.
“We are happy to have this opportunity here at Barnes and Noble. We welcome all of the students to come check out our new section and all of the new products we have,” Fortenberry said.
