BOOKSTORE

Horry Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) is seeking a qualified vendor to manage and operate comprehensive bookstore services across its three campuses in Conway, Myrtle Beach, and Georgetown, South Carolina. The Request for Proposal (RFP) solicits a contractor to provide a wide range of services including selling textbooks, course materials, general merchandise, collegiate apparel, computers, accessories, graduation regalia, and specialty program kits. The contractor must also operate a coffee shop/cafe on the Conway campus and handle all operational aspects such as merchandise acquisition, staffing, equipment procurement, and related business expenses. The solicitation requires vendors to have at least five years of experience managing five or more college bookstores of similar size within the United States, with demonstrated financial stability and clean audit reports. A mandatory pre-proposal conference and site visit was scheduled for September 1, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. at the Conway campus, with proposal questions due by September 1, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. Proposals were required to be submitted online by September 23, 2022, at 11:00 a.m., with award notification originally planned for October 24, 2022.

The contract is structured as a commission-only arrangement with no rent charged for facility use, and vendors must submit a minimum annual guarantee and commission percentages based on commissionable sales. Current bookstore sales average approximately $3.1 million annually, with approximately 85 percent of students receiving financial aid. The contract consists of an initial three-year term with three additional one-year renewal options, for a maximum contract life of six years, with an estimated start date of November 3, 2022. The college uses Banner 9.0 (Ellucian) as its ERP system and maintains exclusive merchandising rights while preserving the ability to approve merchandise and conduct periodic audits. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises were mentioned in the documentation. The college will provide basic infrastructure support including HVAC, electrical, data, water, and sewage services. While no incumbent vendor was explicitly identified, the solicitation provides detailed historical sales data from 2019 through July 2022, with the Conway Campus generating the highest sales volume. The contract requires all work to be performed within the United States and uses D2L (Desire To Learn) as its learning management system.