Reviewing Barnes and Noble’s Business Strategy through the Lens of the Nook
I wrote an article in October 2009 entitled Barnes and Noble VS. The Nook which predicted that Barnes and Noble would go the way of Amazon.com from a brick-and-mortar store to a company-as-a-website. This was before the nook was officially released in early December 2010 and before it became available in Best Buy stores in April 2010.
On July 31, 2010 Barnes and Noble announced they were reducing CD-selling space in their book stores in order to create 1000 square foot “nook lounges” for their in-store ebook customers, but then on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 Barnes and Noble announced that it was looking for someone to buy their company.
Barnes and Noble shares have fallen by more than half since April 2010, and other companies like Circuit City facing significant structural changes have made similar announcements in the past. Circuit City ended up declaring bankruptcy and eventually going bankrupt, but their sister-company CircuitCity.com remains alive. Might the same fate come to Barnes and Noble as it transitions? How has the nook played into this strategy? Did Barnes and Noble have to create the nook to stay in the game or was this their game? Answer in the comments below.