[Alexander Turcic]

When we learned about the recent resignation of their CEO, we knew there was trouble in the air for Barnes & Noble. Seeking Alpha has an article explaining why that is. They cite three market segments in which the bookseller is still operating: tablet market, retail business, and college bookstores. Neither of these markets appear to offer any hope.

In the tablet market, the only upside for Barnes & Noble is Microsoft's recent involvement in the Nook business:

Maybe there's hope for the Nook, though. Last year, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) acquired a 17.6% stake in Barnes & Noble's Nook business segment. Through this investment, Microsoft breaks into the e-reading market with the goal of developing a Windows 8 operating system to replace the Google Android operating system currently running on the Nook.

The rumors of Microsoft paying $1 billion for Barnes & Noble's e-book business segment should temporarily keep investors onboard.

Don't even consider the retail business, if you read the numbers.

As aforementioned, though, its e-book division's future does not look bright. Last fall, it reported it had 27% of the e-book market share. Just a few months later, that number fell to 25%. Because its tablet segment is downsizing, its market share will continue to fall.

Lastly, while revenues in college book sales are on the rise, earning margins have been decreasing (due to investments, they say) and might continue to do so in the long-run.

This segment may boast increasing margins as margins on textbooks increase, but I see this practice tapering off. As textbook rental sites like Chegg further develop and refine their business, college students will seek the all-inclusive services that go beyond just the textbook.

Things certainly aren't looking good for B&N. Question is, what's really left for this company that used to be a behemoth in the book industry? Or, differently asked, does B&N even deserve to have a future?

Somehow, the publishing world calculus has deemed Barnes & Noble an evil lesser than Amazon. And there is, perhaps, some valence to that argument. But mostly, it just shows how myopic we can be about the business we love so much.

As is so often the case, the cleverest take on the ironic saga of Barnes & Noble comes courtesy of The Onion, where a recent article reported that Fox & Company — the triumphant, megalithic bookstore from You've Got Mail — has closed in the face of "Amazon and Apple absorbing the lion’s share of the market." The article also noted, as Radosh does, that the fictional chain, like the real one that is its obvious basis, had "a cold approach to revenue." This is a satire of the truest kind.

[related: Are bookstores still worth fighting for?, image: Flickr]