In 2003 Barnes and Noble took over the reigns of BN.com and in October of last year relaunched a much improved website. In the last year traffic has almost doubled and sales have risen over 7% (compared to only a 1.1% increase in stores). It is safe to say something is working.What I am most impressed with is the Barnes & Noble Studio. It is a rich, multi-faceted approach to the world of books and for those who follow Book Patrol you know that one of my main frustrations in the book world is how segmented it is. Barnes &...
Forget Face-Out Borders Is Just About Face-Down
Following close on the heels of their recent shady pronouncement that they will be carrying less inventory and altering their display strategy to display more books face-out Borders announced today that they are hiring two Wall Street heavyweights to "explore strategic alternatives, including a sale of all or part of the company". They have also accepted a cash helping from the hedge fund Pershing Capital Advisors (at 12% interest).PersonaNonData has a look at the numbers.The Millions has the face-out issued covered here and here and offers the soundest advice for finding that "strategic alternative." By acknowledging that books are a...
Dress Your Books
Worried about reading O. J.'s If I Did It in public? Worried about selling it in public?Worry no more, with Book-Frocks you can shamelessly read or sell whatever you want wherever you want."The covers fit any standard size trade-paper book, and even the extra tall/large ones. For you poetry lovers, the button closure keeps skinny ones from slippin about. Perfect to take with you on the bus, or to your favorite cafe, or to disguise the fact that you're reading."This might be just what the doctor ordered for Barnes and Noble. They already stuck their foot in their mouths by...
The Military Side of Barnes & Noble
This is the headline from the company's press release:Barnes & Noble Donates Books, Toys And Games Valued At $3.4 Million, To Military CharitiesBookstore Joins America Supports You Team at Andrews AFB Joint Service Open HouseY3K Grafix and Penske Logistics Truck Goods Across the Country.and from CEO Marie Toulantis:“On behalf of all the booksellers at Barnes & Noble, we thank America Supports You for this opportunity to express our support to our fellow Americans,”It sounds like as grand a patriotic gesture as one could hope for from a corporation.But could it be so noble?This is the how we got there:Barnes &...
Another University Bookstore Goes to the Chains
First it was Sonoma State University now it is the University of Kentucky.The family owned and independent Kennedy Book Store has had the contract for the UK Book Store for the last 6 years. Kennedy Book Store has been a "campus mainstay since its was founded in 1950" by... Joe Kennedy, who remains the company president."What the University wants for the right to run the bookstore:a 10-year lease and $3 million to $4 million toward renovation of the 16,250-square-foot store.Kennedy offered $2 million and wisely "could not go beyond that given uncertainties that could arise during a 10-year lease"They are...