A city of 250,000 in US without a bookstore...

vaughnmr · 01-23-2010, 02:29 PM

B&N shut down a profitable bookstore because of their "overall strategy"...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/22....html?hpt=Sbin

This leaves a city in the US, population 250,000, without a single bookstore. For anyone who would like to start a bookstore business, this would be a very good location.

I just can't figure out B&N. Who runs this company?

kjk · 01-23-2010, 02:34 PM

Be curious to know how many small bookstores were there (if any) before B. Dalton opened.

vaughnmr · 01-23-2010, 02:45 PM

This is actually pretty amazing to me. 1) you shut down a profitable business, 2) you don't understand the impact this will have on your customers, what if your business actually fulfilled a need in your community. This is beyond stupid, this is blind idiot business sense. Do these companies even think about what they are doing?

lilac_jive · 01-23-2010, 03:04 PM

In B&N's defense, they are shutting down ALL B. Dalton stores.

Connallmac · 01-23-2010, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

TThis is beyond stupid, this is blind idiot business sense. Do these companies even think about what they are doing?

Only as they relate to this quarter's bottom line.

texasnightowl · 01-23-2010, 04:35 PM

I didn't know there were any B. Dalton stores still around anywhere anyway! Haven't seen any in years!

Though given Laredo's size I am still shocked that there is now no major chain bookstore.

TallMomof2 · 01-23-2010, 04:50 PM

B. Dalton was probably the first chain bookstore I ever shopped in. Too bad the one in Laredo couldn't be converted to a B&N.

K-Thom · 01-23-2010, 06:12 PM

According to CNN B&N already is considering to open a new store in Laredo. Maybe they just wanted to get rid of B. Dalton or close all (smaller) mall stores to re-open a more spacious one.

fugazied · 01-23-2010, 06:28 PM

That's just a sad state of affairs for a city of that size. However from the sounds of things they maybe just shuffling stores so one will appear nearby soon.

I live in a town of 50'000 and we don't have a single good restaurant, that's just as ridiculous..

HorridRedDog · 01-23-2010, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fugazied

That's just a sad state of affairs for a city of that size. However from the sounds of things they maybe just shuffling stores so one will appear nearby soon.

I live in a town of 50'000 and we don't have a single good restaurant, that's just as ridiculous..

Yes, but bookstores don't make you fat. Well, most don't anyway.

What is sad is that I'm helping to lead the way. I'm reading more now but I go to the bookstores much less.

The bookstores were where I went to find something NEW. Something, and I didn't even know what. Just roam around until I found a new book, a new series. A library is something like that, but not really the same.

And as the paper bookstores go away books will become more expensive, harder to find, then fewer and fewer. Until the library will be a tomb of ancient books visited only by Sol Roth searching for the mystery of Soylent Green.

calvin-c · 01-23-2010, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

B&N shut down a profitable bookstore because of their "overall strategy"...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/22....html?hpt=Sbin

This leaves a city in the US, population 250,000, without a single bookstore. For anyone who would like to start a bookstore business, this would be a very good location.

I just can't figure out B&N. Who runs this company?

Sounds to me like it's run by an MBA. (Management By A.....)

It's not the first company that's shut down profitable stores. MBA's think they're too important to look at details, and as the article said, the B Dalton line as a whole was losing money-so let's not look at individual stores, just shut them all down. (K-Mart did the same several years ago. Bank of America did it before them. And those are only the ones I know about.)

Kali Yuga · 01-23-2010, 07:34 PM

This is actually "old" news, it was announced several weeks ago. As the article points out, that store made a profit, but B. Dalton as a whole did not.

Unfortunately, they don't really have an easy alternative in terms of keeping that specific store open. It's not like you can just change the sign and voila, it's a B&N.

vaughnmr · 01-23-2010, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Unfortunately, they don't really have an easy alternative in terms of keeping that specific store open. It's not like you can just change the sign and voila, it's a B&N.

How in the heck would you know that???? Please enlighten me, I guess I'm a dunce, what with profits and a known territory for your business, please tell me what I'm missing. There are 250,000 others waiting for the answer also.

Now that I've looked into it, B&N owned the stores for 23 years (since 1987). You would think, that in 23 years, you could come up with a way to make something like that to work! I'm still at a loss as to how this is a positive for anyone.

lilac_jive · 01-23-2010, 09:09 PM

Mall bookstores just aren't profitable enough. Rents in malls are extremely high, and with the big box stores everywhere and internet book buying, they just can't hang on anymore. B&N is doing this with B. Dalton and Borders is doing the same with Waldenbooks.

catsittingstill · 01-23-2010, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

(snip) It's not like you can just change the sign and voila, it's a B&N.

Why not?

Yes, Barnes and Noble is supposedly thinking about opening a store there, but it won't open for two years, which seems like rather a long time.

In the meantime, why not hang a banner over the B. Dalton sign saying "Same books; new name: Barnes and Noble!" and keep the profitable store open?

Also, for those interested, I heard about this a while back and couldn't resist the obvious response. I posted it here.

01-23-2010, 02:29 PM	#1
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	A city of 250,000 in US without a bookstore... B&N shut down a profitable bookstore because of their "overall strategy"... http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/22....html?hpt=Sbin This leaves a city in the US, population 250,000, without a single bookstore. For anyone who would like to start a bookstore business, this would be a very good location. I just can't figure out B&N. Who runs this company?

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01-23-2010, 02:34 PM	#2
kjk . Posts: 3,408 Karma: 5647231 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: never enough	Be curious to know how many small bookstores were there (if any) before B. Dalton opened.

01-23-2010, 02:45 PM	#3
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	This is actually pretty amazing to me. 1) you shut down a profitable business, 2) you don't understand the impact this will have on your customers, what if your business actually fulfilled a need in your community. This is beyond stupid, this is blind idiot business sense. Do these companies even think about what they are doing?

01-23-2010, 03:04 PM	#4
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	In B&N's defense, they are shutting down ALL B. Dalton stores.

01-23-2010, 04:35 PM	#6
texasnightowl Guru Posts: 699 Karma: 1001556 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Texas Device: Oasis 3, K4B(NT), K3/KK	I didn't know there were any B. Dalton stores still around anywhere anyway! Haven't seen any in years! Though given Laredo's size I am still shocked that there is now no major chain bookstore.

01-23-2010, 04:50 PM	#7
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	B. Dalton was probably the first chain bookstore I ever shopped in. Too bad the one in Laredo couldn't be converted to a B&N.

01-23-2010, 06:12 PM	#8
K-Thom The one and only Posts: 3,302 Karma: 535819 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Berlin, Germany Device: yup!	According to CNN B&N already is considering to open a new store in Laredo. Maybe they just wanted to get rid of B. Dalton or close all (smaller) mall stores to re-open a more spacious one.

01-23-2010, 06:28 PM	#9
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	That's just a sad state of affairs for a city of that size. However from the sounds of things they maybe just shuffling stores so one will appear nearby soon. I live in a town of 50'000 and we don't have a single good restaurant, that's just as ridiculous..

01-23-2010, 07:34 PM	#12
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	This is actually "old" news, it was announced several weeks ago. As the article points out, that store made a profit, but B. Dalton as a whole did not. Unfortunately, they don't really have an easy alternative in terms of keeping that specific store open. It's not like you can just change the sign and voila, it's a B&N.

01-23-2010, 09:09 PM	#14
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Mall bookstores just aren't profitable enough. Rents in malls are extremely high, and with the big box stores everywhere and internet book buying, they just can't hang on anymore. B&N is doing this with B. Dalton and Borders is doing the same with Waldenbooks.

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