Why is barnes and noble going out of business

However, current CEO James Daunt has expressed commitment to the Nook and said that it should have a more prominent place in the stores. In a podcast from [email protected] , a few marketing professors discussed what the future might hold for the beleaguered retailer.

McLean more or less offered a hit list for retail success during her talk: personalized attention, curated selection, and convenience friction-free purchasing. James Daunt is perhaps best known for spending the last eight years getting the venerable but once shaky Waterstones with stores on its feet. However, Daunt used some tough tactics, the kind publishers complain about with Amazon, to salvage Waterstones. Gone will be the grand plans and corporate double-speak of the current regime, replaced instead by someone whose message will be simple, to the point, sometimes bruising, but effective.

On Sept. Daunt says that if you give booksellers the autonomy to choose and display and curate their stores rather than making decisions on a corporate level , those booksellers will make sure the books that customers want to buy are in front of them. That is the happy outcome that should reconcile publishers to this [new model]. Co-op is the practice of publishers paying for title placement throughout the chain.

Furthermore, because of this local-first strategy, a number of longtime buyers for the chain headquartered in New York City have been let go. Courtney reports that, although chairs have been removed from reading areas and the cafe at her store has been closed, customers continue to visit the store and linger in public areas.

They stand as close to us as possible, even as we take great care to put distance between us, and cough into the air. At storefronts that remain open, some employees have chosen not to come to work out of fear and are using available paid time off. Others, even some that are at higher risk of contracting COVID, continue coming to work out of fear of unemployment.

Courtney shared that she and many colleagues would feel more comfortable continuing to work if stores moved to pick-up only and stop accepting cash payments. As many cities and states receive directives to shelter in place, constituents are left uncertain about what businesses are deemed essential or non-essential.

The U. Department of Homeland Security issued guidance on what industries and workers are considered essential, highlighting industries like health care, food and agriculture, public works, and more. However, the broad guidance deferred to state and local governments for further delineation of essential businesses in their individual directives. The stores are still adding new fixtures and are beginning to get ready for the fall by adding such things as new cash wraps.

This spring, Elliott bought the stationery and gift retailer Paper Source and put Daunt in charge. Daunt is among those industry members who believe interest in reading will remain high even as other activities that had been closed reopen. He looked back on how excitement over the Harry Potter books created new book audiences and said while some new readers may drop off, the majority will remain.

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