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Originally Posted by DuckieTigger
I see. So the reason for closing the Nook UK store are somewhat different than Waterstones'? I thought maybe Waterstones was trying to get rid of the ebook store to delay or avoid the fate B&N is facing.
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Waterstones closed the ebook store because it wasn't making money and they were doing some sort of refocus of the business. Each store is given much more free range for how things are displayed. This move initially costs them money since publishers typically pay to have a book featured on a display. However in the long run the staff is happier because they feel their opinions are valued, customers buy more because the store shapes itself around what their customers like, and there's less waste since the stores in conservative areas aren't going to get a ton of a liberals book and vice versa (just as an example).
B&N shut down their Nook UK store as a means to stem the drain that Nook had on their profits. Rather than allow stores to become community centers (which is what the corporate directive is ironically enough), they're doubling down on making stores as much alike as they can. This is done via the displays that publishers pay for. Now the staff wont feel as if their opinions are valued, the customers will find other places that have the books they want, and the stores are left with deadstock. Granted they can return books to the publishers, but in brick and mortar businesses you should aim to move everything rather than accept that some things wont sell.
BN has other failings, their PR division often if not always fails to get ahead of the press when they're reporting things incorrectly. They've had a -lot- of turnover at the corporate level, which has resulted in a very muddy message to consumers as to where the company is headed.
I believe BN's stores are still turning a profit, overall, but the Nook division is sucking that profit right up. BN at least seems to be trying to change this rather than live in denial, the last I heard they were projecting that by fiscal 2018 Nook would only be losing 10-20 million as opposed to the 80+ million it currently burns.