Nook Failure, Lack of Foot Traffic Could Spell Doom For Barnes & Noble 330
tripleevenfall sends in a story at Yahoo Finance forecasting the end of Barnes & Noble. Quoting:
"The last nationwide book retailer may be writing its final chapter. Barnes & Noble's latest quarterly results show a 7.4% drop in revenues and a $122 million loss for the fourth-quarter of its fiscal year. 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. B&N appears to be cannibalizing itself with branded tablets and cross-platform e-reader applications, which render the stores increasingly irrelevant."
At least they tried (Score:5, Insightful)
The summary seems to attack B&N for trying to adapt to changing times rather than sticking their head in the sand. Even if it was ultimately futile, I don't think it was boneheaded.
I thought it was a toy store (Score:5, Insightful)
The last time I walked into one of their stores it seemed more like a toy store. Most of it was toys, puzzles, and games. It wasn't what I was expecting at all.
Re:Are people reading fewer paper books? (Score:2, Insightful)
It doesn't help that most of the store is devoted to all kinds of crap like toys, cards, god books, and astrology.
How many interpretations of the bible can a person buy?
Meanwhile the science fiction section has to share shelf space with fantasy and teen romance.
The textbook section is almost entirely business self help books and X for dummies.
I think they had 3 or 4 books on security related software development and half an aisle on developing for IOS.
I understand that iphone is hot right now, and god is great, but there are limits to how many of the same book you need in a store.
Re:Remember when... (Score:3, Insightful)
Remember when the folks at B&N were hailed as visionary geniuses compared to the doofuses at Borders because B&N had an eReader?
No.
If Barnes and Noble want to stay in business, they need to stop selling their books at list price. They don't need to have Amazon's discounts, but how about 20% across the board?
When I can buy a $49 O'Reilly book on Amazon for $22, there's little incentive to buy from B&N. On the other hand, a 20% discount would be enough to buy in the store - that way I get instantly and in good condition. Anyone else notice that Amazon has cheapened their shipping packaging? No more strink wrapping the book with a cardboard sheet to keep the book from bouncing around the box. And many times, the books are just thrown in a bubble envelope and come with their asses kicked.
Re:Are people reading fewer paper books? (Score:5, Insightful)
They eyestrain worry is overstated.
No. Wrong. Ebooks didn't get started because of ipads, the ipad screen is the same as a laptop screen. If it were that easy to read books on a laptop screen nobody would have needed to invent ereaders. Whether or not ipad fans like it, the simple reality is that you can't read books or even lengthy texts as easily from a luminescent monitor as from an e-ink display. Mod me down all you like, claim otherwise based on anecdote, but you didn't have people selling their book collections when laptops became common. End of story.
Re:LOL Ballmer (Score:4, Insightful)
Yep, the deal with MS was an obvious sign that B&N's end was nearing. Having MS buy into something is a death knell these days.
Re:Are people reading fewer paper books? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Are people reading fewer paper books? (Score:5, Insightful)
"the simple reality is that you can't read books or even lengthy texts as easily from a luminescent monitor as from an e-ink display."
Simply not true. I can, and do, and your wishing won't stop me.
"but you didn't have people selling their book collections when laptops became common"
That's a form factor thing, not a backlit screen thing.
eink/epaper is great. I happen to prefer the flexibility of an LCD. Neither preference should get you all hot n' bothered, because it's just that: A preference. For /my/ use case, an LCD is superior. For /your/ use case, do whatever the hell you want. It'll be OK.
Re:I go into the bookstore (Score:5, Insightful)
Okay, this was marked "Funny" but why go to a bookstore when you can browse, borrow, and read samples of books from anywhere? Why go to a music store when I can download from anywhere?
As long as the functionality of the bookstore is no greater than the functionality of my ebook reader, what is the draw? I can get reviews, recommendations, top 100 lists by genre, new releases, etc all in the palm of my hand, none of which I can get at the bookstore unless I bring my internet device.
So sure...want me to show up at your warehouse-sized bookstore? Give me some good live music (a la the Eolian). Give me cake. Give me coffee. Hell, give me a beer or glass of wine. Give me tables with cabled iPads so I can surf book selections whilst drinking my beer and listening to a lutist then go grab them off your shelf when I go. Or when I stay.
Save money and make your stores smaller. Maybe sell only certain genres, or hardcovers, or softcovers (because who buys hardcovers anymore?). But keep the food, keep the music, keep the kiosk tables, keep freaking quiz night, just give me a reason to walk in your store, because while I love me a good bookstore, I love me the beach/forest/cafe/couch/bed more.
Re:I go into the bookstore (Score:5, Insightful)
Why go to the movies when you can watch it online? Why go to theater or a sports arena when you can see it on TV? Why go sightseeing when you can use Google Street View?
Some things are just better in person. Personally, I find a book store much easier to browse a category of books when I'm not looking for something very specific. I also find paper books much easier to flip through randomly to get a sense of the structure and content of the book than the electronic counterpart.
I agree with what you say about adding value to it... make book stores more than just a store.