Barnes & Noble: The Final Chapter?

[KamaAina]

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/barnes-noble-final-chapter-151038001.html

The last nationwide book retailer may be writing its final chapter. Barnes & Noble's (BKS) latest quarterly sales results show a lack of foot traffic in the stores and an absence of management focus on retail that foreshadows a disappointing end for the company's 675 stores and perhaps its entire existence....

B&N's disastrous focus on making Nook e-Readers is weighing heavily on the chain's operations. A 17% drop in Nook revenues and stunning $475 million loss for the device division in 2013 are hobbling the company's ability to keep its stores afloat in an increasingly tough environment for bricks and mortar stores.

Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities analyst at Belus Capital Advisors, thinks the odds are stacked against Barnes & Noble. "I have no confidence in this company surviving," Sozzi says in the attached video. In large part that has to do with the company cannibalizing itself with branded tablets and e-reader applications. "The more they continue to pump this Nook app across platforms the stores become increasingly irrelevant."

The world will remember little about the Nook business disappearing. The physical stores are a different matter. The chain had declining revenues in 2013 but actually increased earnings by 16% by selling higher margin goods.

On the one hand, B&N (and now-deceased Borders) bullied indies out of business. Now Amazon is doing it to B&N. Hard to gin up much sympathy. But, a world without bookstores, except in hip urban neighborhoods and college towns?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. Chain store or not, I much prefer a brick and mortar store with real books....

....to websites with only E-Books.

It will be a sad day to see the death of the book store proper.

Yes, you'll still have small independent stores, but with limited selections, so....

[Initech]

2. Expect the vulture capitalists to loot Barnes & Noble the same way they did Borders and Hostess.

[hollysmom]

3. I volunteer at B&N during the holidays (for charity not the store)

I am surprised at the amount of foot traffic I see in the physical stores considering the number of Nook buyers. I talked to the store manager about it and he said that he was surprised that their business had increased over the last 2 years.
Could just be NJ.

[CTyankee]

4. I think people like seeing and feeling books. Amazon just doesn't satisfay that for me and

I am speculating, others. We like the feel of books in our hands as we consider whether we will buy them.

I do hope that the Barnes and Noble Yale store in New Haven will survive! It is a wonderful experience!

[hollysmom]

10. well, I used to do a lot of reading at the beach

not good to bring expensive electronics and leave them to swim or to get them damaged in the sand, like I scratched my glasses last year.

[CTyankee]

12. A book survives much more...I love my library books!

[Chan790]

5. I expect the DC effect.

DC's indie bookstores did such a good job basically putting B&N out of business inside the beltway...there's one Barnes store in Downtown and one in Bethesda on the far side of the belt...that this odd little thing started to happen. Even more indie bookstores started to pop up and now some of the indies like Kramerbooks, Politics & Prose and Busboys & Poets are bigger than the chains ever were.

They did it in smart ways...they don't support e-books; they all have full restaurant cafes with liquor licenses and serve brunch; they encourage you to pick up a book and stay for 2-3 hours reading and drinking; they hired well-paid professional staffs that know about their subjects and books; they will order you anything you want and meet competitor's prices including Amazon; they make great recommendations; they host cool book-groups/events/bar-events; they made reading cool and themselves hip places to meet. Kramerbooks in DC is a better place to pick up hot dates than any bar in the city.

[KamaAina]

14. I'd expect it too.

In DC, NYC, Boston, the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland and other places that are already highly literate. (The Bay Area sells more books than greater LA, which is more than twice its size. Not more books per capita, more titles.)

But what about the rest of the country?

[JI7]

6. hopefully this means a return of smaller indie book stores

i think especially specialization type of stores could do well. a store that mostly sells poetry books or sci fi, or anything else.

they can also sell a few other gift items related to those areas.

[RedCappedBandit]

7. Hope so

I'd be happy to see a return of indie book stores. I'd *hate* to see B&N go under with no replacement, though. Just something about going book shopping..

[derby378]

8. We still have a bunch of Half-Price Books locations in Dallas

They are greatly appreciated around here - most of the other non-chain bookstores only carry either Harlequin romances or religious material or both.

[Brewinblue]

11. Half-Price Books

The flagship store on Northwest Highway in Dallas is by far my favorite bookstore in the country, and my second favorite retail establishment period, second only to Central Market on Lovers Lane. Dallas shopping is like no other.

[Neoma]

9. This might boost indie up indie stores really...

I only have three bookstores I usually go to, and one of them is Barnes and Nobles. Considering how damned popular that place is, I have a sneaking suspicion that other bookstores will suddenly boom.

[longship]

13. Barnes Ignoble. nt