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Kali Yuga · 01-05-2013, 03:23 PM

B&N is not ignoring Amazon, it isn't ducking its head in the sand over ebooks, it didn't fail to leverage its physical presence.

Going international won't save the Nook business. The US is the largest book/ebook market in the world, and B&N knows the US business as well as anyone. Going international is expensive. You need to deal with hundreds of local laws and taxation schemes; you need to know what books sell well in what countries; you need customer service in a dozen languages. Just because someone in Uzbekistan can see your website doesn't mean it is actually easy to sell ebooks to millions of Uzbeks. They could not possibly afford to build up the Nook business (which has cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, and destroyed their profitability for at least 2 years) and build an international ebook business at the same time.

The Nook didn't crater in Q4 because it's a closed platform. B&N's app is available on tablets and smartphones. iBooks are more locked down than Nook books. Amazon has both DRM and a proprietary format, and no native ePub support, and didn't support Overdrive until about a year ago. B&N won't suddenly make billions by adding a few apps or putting out an Android tablet.

They didn't get into ebooks "too late," except perhaps by a few months. Apple had zero presence in books before the iPad launched, didn't make iBooks the greatest thing since sliced bread, and has eaten the Nook's lunch anyway.

B&N wasn't seriously thrown off track by the proxy war. They won't be helped by installing a revolving door to the executive offices.

No one will be able to get rid of Riggio.

Sure, B&N hasn't executed perfectly, but who does? Even Amazon has made many well-publicized mis-steps, which have caused many an MR poster to vow never to buy devices or ebooks from Amazon.

Ultimately, the problem isn't improper execution. None of its errors are genuine show-stoppers.

It's that transitioning from a brick & mortar retailer to an online ebook seller is a serious challenge to any company.

01-05-2013, 03:23 PM	#95
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	B&N is not ignoring Amazon, it isn't ducking its head in the sand over ebooks, it didn't fail to leverage its physical presence. Going international won't save the Nook business. The US is the largest book/ebook market in the world, and B&N knows the US business as well as anyone. Going international is expensive. You need to deal with hundreds of local laws and taxation schemes; you need to know what books sell well in what countries; you need customer service in a dozen languages. Just because someone in Uzbekistan can see your website doesn't mean it is actually easy to sell ebooks to millions of Uzbeks. They could not possibly afford to build up the Nook business (which has cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, and destroyed their profitability for at least 2 years) and build an international ebook business at the same time. The Nook didn't crater in Q4 because it's a closed platform. B&N's app is available on tablets and smartphones. iBooks are more locked down than Nook books. Amazon has both DRM and a proprietary format, and no native ePub support, and didn't support Overdrive until about a year ago. B&N won't suddenly make billions by adding a few apps or putting out an Android tablet. They didn't get into ebooks "too late," except perhaps by a few months. Apple had zero presence in books before the iPad launched, didn't make iBooks the greatest thing since sliced bread, and has eaten the Nook's lunch anyway. B&N wasn't seriously thrown off track by the proxy war. They won't be helped by installing a revolving door to the executive offices. No one will be able to get rid of Riggio. Sure, B&N hasn't executed perfectly, but who does? Even Amazon has made many well-publicized mis-steps, which have caused many an MR poster to vow never to buy devices or ebooks from Amazon. Ultimately, the problem isn't improper execution. None of its errors are genuine show-stoppers. It's that transitioning from a brick & mortar retailer to an online ebook seller is a serious challenge to any company. Last edited by Kali Yuga; 01-05-2013 at 03:58 PM.