Barnes & Noble Reveals Scary Plans for Future, Internet Putting Them Out of Business
For decades, a visit to Barnes & Noble was a bookworm’s dream.
But for six years, business has been rocky for the bookstore giant, leaving its future clouded.
Over the years, Barnes & Noble evolved from simply selling books to becoming somewhat of an oasis — a highly sought out destination — for book lovers across America.
In addition to the seemingly endless choices of books to peruse, shoppers could curl up in a comfy chair with a cup of Starbucks coffee from the in-store cafe and stay a while, enjoying the atmosphere of the store and relishing the chance to relax.
But with the rise of the digital age and the instant-gratification found by placing book orders on Amazon, Barnes and Noble stores have experienced painfully suffering sales for the last six years.
In October, the company announced it would be taking a hard look at the possibility of selling, USA Today reported.
The company said it had multiple buyers entertaining the idea of taking on the company, including executive chairman and modern-day founder Leonard Riggio.
Before you start grieving the loss of the beloved bookstore, keep in mind that at this point, the company has not made a decision.
There “can be no assurance that a transaction will be consummated,” Barnes & Noble said, explaining that an independent committee has been established to strategically review the company.
Company leadership is completely aware that if things stay the same, Barnes & Noble isn’t going to be able to compete with digital readers, Amazon sales, and big-box stores offering cheap prices like Walmart or Target.
In the meantime, according to Riggio, everyone is looking to this holiday season’s sales as a crucial indicator of how to proceed.
The company is gearing up to roll out a new ad campaign this week with the message “Nobody Knows Books Like We Do,” and is expected to showcase its over 20,000 employees, its book expertise and why its stores are different from the rest.
Riggio told CNBC that Barnes & Noble is feeling “highly anxious” and somewhat “paranoid” this holiday season.
“We’ve done a lot of things this year to try to put ourselves on the right track and to get our comp-store sales number to head in the positive direction, … and we are hoping that that comes — we are planning for it to come — during this holiday season,” Riggio said.
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