Quote:
Originally Posted by SeaKing
It was the same with many legacy businesses that are no more. The big guys kept it going and talked up what a great job they were doing, and kept those bonuses coming to themselves and their favorite cronies. Just eking out a few more years til retirement.
Not taking any risks. Not taking on the future.
The great? Newspapers
Sears
K Mart
Circuit City
Best Buy
Comp USA
Woolworth
Roses
McCroys
Encyclopedia Britannica
|
The thing is, B&N and some of these companies you mention are in businesses that are in decline due to technological advances and consumer behaviors beyond their control. B&N should have been trying to compete directly with Amazon online right from Amazon's inception. They had the clout and resources to crush Amazon. But they didn't have the expertise. Instead they ignored them and saturated the country with B&M stores because that's where the profits were at the time.
Their strategy was successful in the short term. By the time they realized it wouldn't work long-term they didn't have a whole lot of options left. The Nook was a good try but it was too late. Plus you have to realize that for every visionary success like Amazon there are hundreds if not thousands of failures, so the business decisions are not always as easy as they seem in hindsight.