Students will soon be able to purchase Dartmouth Athletics gear on Main Street, according to athletics director Mike Harrity. Dartmouth Athletics plans to open Dartmouth Authentic, a new apparel store, on Main Street this fall.
The store will be located across from the Dartmouth Coop — an independent business that has sold Dartmouth merchandise since 1919 — and will fill a currently empty storefront. According to Harrity, Dartmouth Athletics is opening the store to meet high demand for Dartmouth sports apparel.
“From speaking with alumni, students [and] fans, both local, regionally and nationally, one consistent theme from all those conversations was a desire to have access to more and different apparel choices across the board,” he said. “Men, women and kids just wanted more merchandise — more than what was on our online store and more than they could find anywhere else.”
The new store will be staffed and managed by college apparel retail company Follet, which currently manages the Athletics online shop, Harrity said. Dartmouth Authentic will sell exclusive Nike athletic wear and manage a kiosk at College games. The project will be finished at some point this fall, depending on construction time and coordination with Follet, Harrity said.
The announcement has met mixed reactions among students and local business owners.
Caroline Lemcke ’27, a member of the women’s tennis team, said she is “super excited” about the store’s opening because she hopes it will offer team-specific merchandise.
“I often try to find women’s tennis-specific merchandise for my family and friends,” she said. “… I hope that the addition of Dartmouth Authentic will make these kinds of items more accessible to the public and in turn generate more interest in our sport.”
Dartmouth Coop president and owner Gene Kohn ’60, meanwhile, said the competition from Dartmouth Authentic will be “different from any competition [the Coop has] had before.” He also questioned the store’s chosen name.
“[The name Dartmouth Authentic] … seems to suggest that other sellers of Dartmouth merchandise are not authentic,” Kohn said.
Harrity said the store’s name was chosen in coordination with Follet.
“I can’t speak to anyone’s reaction to it other than that we feel it captures exactly what we are offering,” Harrity said.
Although the store may compete with the Coop, Kohn said he values the College’s investments downtown.
“I think any investment that Dartmouth makes in stores or merchants or activities to downtown Hanover will benefit not only the students, but also the faculty and the staff and the people who live in the area,” Kohn said.
State government relations and community outreach director Heather Drinan wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that the College has “always” invested in the downtown area and is making an effort to be more public about this work.
“We’re much more focused on sharing the work we’re doing together because there is also a recognition by the new administration that Dartmouth needs a vibrant downtown,” she wrote.
