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fjtorres · 06-29-2016, 08:51 AM

At their peak, circa 2010-11, shortly after the Borders liquidation, B&N controlled a third of the Pbook market in the US. This week, in a financial conference call, they reported 20% market share. That's around a 40% drop over 5 years.

Restaurants probably won't reverse those losses but since they seem incapable of fixing their online arm it is marginally better than doing nothing. Maybe.

I still think they need to bring back the B. DALTON model. Combine it with POD, online, and next day in-store pickup and they might have a chance to remain relevant.

The other bit of recent news is they are now offering to stock Indie Published titles in their stores. Falls under the too little, too late category...

http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/0...ttle-too-late/

...mostly because of the hoops they expect Indies to jump through and their ongoing Nook press alliance with Author Solutions.

Still, the underlying message ("You no longer need a traditional publishing contract to get your books onto B&N shelves!") may not sit well with their BPH suppliers already looking at declining shelf space at B&N stores because of the encroachment by toys and "lifestyle merchandise" and now, booze and food, amid *their* declining sales:

http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/0...-january-2016/

I suppose the good news is they are trying but the bad news is that instead of trying to exploit consumer trends (more online shopping across the board) they are trying to increase their share of the declining B&M shopper pool. Counterprogramming works for movies and TVs but for retail?

06-29-2016, 08:51 AM	#32
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	At their peak, circa 2010-11, shortly after the Borders liquidation, B&N controlled a third of the Pbook market in the US. This week, in a financial conference call, they reported 20% market share. That's around a 40% drop over 5 years. Restaurants probably won't reverse those losses but since they seem incapable of fixing their online arm it is marginally better than doing nothing. Maybe. I still think they need to bring back the B. DALTON model. Combine it with POD, online, and next day in-store pickup and they might have a chance to remain relevant. The other bit of recent news is they are now offering to stock Indie Published titles in their stores. Falls under the too little, too late category... http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/0...ttle-too-late/ ...mostly because of the hoops they expect Indies to jump through and their ongoing Nook press alliance with Author Solutions. Still, the underlying message ("You no longer need a traditional publishing contract to get your books onto B&N shelves!") may not sit well with their BPH suppliers already looking at declining shelf space at B&N stores because of the encroachment by toys and "lifestyle merchandise" and now, booze and food, amid their declining sales: http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/0...-january-2016/ I suppose the good news is they are trying but the bad news is that instead of trying to exploit consumer trends (more online shopping across the board) they are trying to increase their share of the declining B&M shopper pool. Counterprogramming works for movies and TVs but for retail? Last edited by fjtorres; 06-29-2016 at 08:54 AM.