Barnes & Noble Ditching Tablets, Closing Stores.....

[MMC]

After a brief struggle in the tablet market, Barnes & Noble is pulling out.

On Tuesday, the company announced that hits to its NOOK segment helped to drive its losses upward in its latest quarter. From February to April, Barnes & Noble's net losses were at $2.11 per share, for a total of nearly $119 million. Just a year ago, losses totaled around $57 million, or $1.06 per share. NOOK revenues were down sharply last quarter, by 34 percent from a year ago.

As part of its plan to stop its NOOK losses, Barnes & Noble now says it will have a third party manufacture its color NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ tablets, in an effort to mitigate the risks from manufacturing the tablets itself, the company said. Barnes & Noble will, however, continue to make its black-and-white eReaders and to sell NOOK-branded color tablets, as well as eReader content.

The company also expects to open five new stores and close 15 to 20 new ones in the coming year. That rate of store openings and closings is consistent with what the company has done in recent years, says CFO Michael Huseby, and does not reflect that the company is shifting its focus away from brick-and-mortar retail.

Amid the tablet difficulties, the company said it had a strong fiscal year 2013 performance in its retail and college segments. However, the outlook isn't sunny for the company's stores: Barnes & Noble expects percentage declines for comparable bookstore sales to be in the high single digits for fiscal year 2014, and for percentage declines in college comparable store sales to be in the low single digits, according to a statement released Tuesday.....snip~

Barnes & Noble Ditching Tablets, Closing Stores

It appears Barnes and Nobles is starting to head down the tubes too. Closing 15-20 stores and the outlook for 2014 is even worse. Something for those to be aware of when out looking for tablets.

 

[GottaGo]

After a brief struggle in the tablet market, Barnes & Noble is pulling out.

On Tuesday, the company announced that hits to its NOOK segment helped to drive its losses upward in its latest quarter. From February to April, Barnes & Noble's net losses were at $2.11 per share, for a total of nearly $119 million. Just a year ago, losses totaled around $57 million, or $1.06 per share. NOOK revenues were down sharply last quarter, by 34 percent from a year ago.

As part of its plan to stop its NOOK losses, Barnes & Noble now says it will have a third party manufacture its color NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ tablets, in an effort to mitigate the risks from manufacturing the tablets itself, the company said. Barnes & Noble will, however, continue to make its black-and-white eReaders and to sell NOOK-branded color tablets, as well as eReader content.

The company also expects to open five new stores and close 15 to 20 new ones in the coming year. That rate of store openings and closings is consistent with what the company has done in recent years, says CFO Michael Huseby, and does not reflect that the company is shifting its focus away from brick-and-mortar retail.

Amid the tablet difficulties, the company said it had a strong fiscal year 2013 performance in its retail and college segments. However, the outlook isn't sunny for the company's stores: Barnes & Noble expects percentage declines for comparable bookstore sales to be in the high single digits for fiscal year 2014, and for percentage declines in college comparable store sales to be in the low single digits, according to a statement released Tuesday.....snip~

Barnes & Noble Ditching Tablets, Closing Stores

It appears Barnes and Nobles is starting to head down the tubes too. Closing 15-20 stores and the outlook for 2014 is even worse. Something for those to be aware of when out looking for tablets.

Though I will always be an avid (paper) book reader, there is much to be said for the electronic versions such as Kindle.

Since Kindle can be had in most electronics stores, or directly from Amazon which has no store front, Barnes and Noble may be doing damage to itself by maintaining store fronts.

 

[Sarcogito]

It is sad but I am part of the problem. Ever since the very first Kindle came out at around $500 I have been reading almost solely on my Kindles. But I love book stores. The problem is I go into the book stores, browse around, enjoy the atmosphere, and then go home and download the books I am interested in on my Kindle. I enjoy reading on my my Kindle so much that even when I am given a book as a present, that when i actually feel like reading it I will pay for the Kindle version. Reference books that I don't tend to read from front to back are the one of the few exceptions.

 

[humbolt]

I find that reading paper is easier on my eyes than the electronic displays. Besides, having books on shelves reminds me of what I've read with the visual stimulus sitting in front of me. I'm enough of a bonehead that I need that reminder every once in a while. Okay. Every day, actually.

 

[Sarcogito]

I find that reading paper is easier on my eyes than the electronic displays. Besides, having books on shelves reminds me of what I've read with the visual stimulus sitting in front of me. I'm enough of a bonehead that I need that reminder every once in a while. Okay. Every day, actually.

I get the wanting to have books on your book shelf. As for the being hard on your eyes? I get that if you are talking about ipad type tablets with the lcd screens. But for me the e-ink readers are easier on my eyes than ever paper books because I can adjust the font.

 

[humbolt]

I get the wanting to have books on your book shelf. As for the being hard on your eyes? I get that if you are talking about ipad type tablets with the lcd screens. But for me the e-ink readers are easier on my eyes than ever paper books because I can adjust the font.

It could be that I have eyes that are 63 years old, and I'm stubborn, but I have noticed that my eyes are far less fatigued when reading paper. Maybe it's the contrast - who knows - and maybe it's specific to me alone. There's also a streak in me that wants to have books around for future generations, so I'm a little sad that books are slowly disappearing. I have to admit that I still find reading far more exciting than movies or television, and if one chooses to read electronically, it's still reading. It requires an active imagination and certainly stimulates one, and I can appreciate the skill and ability of the writers in ways the screen will never provide. Edit: By screen I mean television and movies, whether documentary or drama.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

After a brief struggle in the tablet market, Barnes & Noble is pulling out.

On Tuesday, the company announced that hits to its NOOK segment helped to drive its losses upward in its latest quarter. From February to April, Barnes & Noble's net losses were at $2.11 per share, for a total of nearly $119 million. Just a year ago, losses totaled around $57 million, or $1.06 per share. NOOK revenues were down sharply last quarter, by 34 percent from a year ago.

As part of its plan to stop its NOOK losses, Barnes & Noble now says it will have a third party manufacture its color NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ tablets, in an effort to mitigate the risks from manufacturing the tablets itself, the company said. Barnes & Noble will, however, continue to make its black-and-white eReaders and to sell NOOK-branded color tablets, as well as eReader content.

The company also expects to open five new stores and close 15 to 20 new ones in the coming year. That rate of store openings and closings is consistent with what the company has done in recent years, says CFO Michael Huseby, and does not reflect that the company is shifting its focus away from brick-and-mortar retail.

Amid the tablet difficulties, the company said it had a strong fiscal year 2013 performance in its retail and college segments. However, the outlook isn't sunny for the company's stores: Barnes & Noble expects percentage declines for comparable bookstore sales to be in the high single digits for fiscal year 2014, and for percentage declines in college comparable store sales to be in the low single digits, according to a statement released Tuesday.....snip~

Barnes & Noble Ditching Tablets, Closing Stores

It appears Barnes and Nobles is starting to head down the tubes too. Closing 15-20 stores and the outlook for 2014 is even worse. Something for those to be aware of when out looking for tablets.

Forever ago I used their failing business as an example of what not to do - and how to fix problems.

What it come down to: they glided along, assuming that their business concept would work by default, and failed to follow their numbers and act accordingly BEFORE worst case scenario.

They had no backup plan.

 

[GottaGo]

I get the wanting to have books on your book shelf. As for the being hard on your eyes? I get that if you are talking about ipad type tablets with the lcd screens. But for me the e-ink readers are easier on my eyes than ever paper books because I can adjust the font.

I won't tell you what size font I've got mine on. :lol: You can also adjust the brightness, which makes it even easier on the eyes.