B&N explains their results

[tas03]

I would add to the list of why Nook is dying is a variation about Nook for PC/ Nook Study - when B&N sold their soul to Microsoft and abandoned development of these two programs and only had a program for Windows 10, they threw everyone who wasn't using Windows 10 under the bus. They then drove the bus back over those customers when they made books undownloadabl and not able to be read on the web - this last practice something they had actually been promoting before. There was a book that I accidentally bought that could not be read on a Nook ST but I did not try to return it because it could still be read on the web, and since it was a reference book, it was not big deal. The way I discovered you could no longer read their books on the web was when I clicked on that book in my list of Nook books and instead of opening, it took me to a page to by the book. When I called B&N to find out what I was doing wrong, and they told me it was their new policy, I asked, since they no longer supported Nook Study or Nook for PC, how was I supposed to read my book, they suggested that I could find an inexpensive Windows 10 computer to use!

[fjtorres]

About the Microsoft deal: they failed to deliver the Windows 8 version on time, failed to update it as contracted, and Microsoft was forced to take over maintenance until B&N admitted they couldn't deliver and returned what remained of the MS money.

It wasn't just readers who got shafted.

[Wearever]

Typical B&N making excuses and trying to shift responsibility away from themselves.

[GA Russell]

From time to time one sees a corporation which has a turnover of CEOs. Borders comes to mind.

This tells me that the fellow with the CEO title was never the man in charge.

I think we see this here with Riggio running the company regardless of job titles.

I'm not aware of a company run this way which is a success. Can anyone think of any?

[Wearever]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

From time to time one sees a corporation which has a turnover of CEOs. Borders comes to mind.

This tells me that the fellow with the CEO title was never the man in charge.

I think we see this here with Riggio running the company regardless of job titles.

I'm not aware of a company run this way which is a success. Can anyone think of any?

That's true, definitely Riggio, his CEO's come and go and things continue to decline. I can't think of any that could survive that , unless it had a unique niche, and no competition. B&N has neither.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Oh where did BN go wrong...

Or maybe it was not releasing an eink device on par with Amazon and Kobo for years, the Nook Glowlight caught up with devices two years older than it. The Glowlight Plus caught up to devices about a year older.

I can agree with most of your points, but I think the Glowlight Plus deserves better than that.

Hardware wise, the Glowlight Plus is an equal to the Paperwhite (its only real competition) or any of the current 6" Kobos and it is the only one that is waterproof.

[DiapDealer]

I don't think he was dissing The Glowlight Plus per se. Only noting that it was a year late to market compared to the equivalent devices of its competitors. You don't stay relevant by constantly playing catch-up.

It's not been proven to my satisfaction that waterproofing alone is enough to motivate very many people to "upgrade" their Kindles and/or Kobos (which otherwise match up hardware- and feature-wise). In fact: if sales of the Glowlight Plus were less-than stellar, it's sort of proof-positive that adding waterproofing to last year's ereader specs wasn't enough to make a hit.

[Pajamaman]

I hope B&N can keep the Nook going and getting a larger market-share. Ereader diversity has taken a big hit in the West. No more Sony. If Nook goes all we'll have is Kobo and Kindle. Boring, especially with Amazon's little interest in innovation. I suppose I'll only be able to buy Chinese in the end. What a shame.

[DiapDealer]

Why is it so hard for you to accept that there's not going to BE any more real innovative "leaps" in dedicated ereaders (short of a cost-effective, low-power color display that will impact way more than just ereaders)? The niche is filled. More brands won't expand the niche.

[AnemicOak]

Riggio Reiterates B&N's Commitment to Restoring Growth

As one of the featured speakers at the Association of American Publishers annual meeting held March 8 in New York, Barnes & Noble CEO Len Riggio delivered something of a bookselling history lesson, as well as his vision for the future of the country's biggest bricks and mortar book retailer.

Riggio repeated that turning around negative comparable store sales into positive comps at the company is key to its future. Riggio said he thought B&N was on its way to achieving positive comps, but the distraction caused by the presidential election and its aftermath ended the upward momentum.

Riggio acknowledged that B&N’s expansion into manufacturing digital devices was a mistake, saying, "we’re not a technology company.” And the Nook unit, which at one point had as many as 1,600 employees, he said is now, after dramatic cuts, at about the right size, selling devices manufactured by third parties, but that carry the Nook name. Riggio said that while Nook is significantly smaller, he still wants B&N to be able to sell customers an e-book if that is what they want. On the topic of online sales versus in-store sales, Riggio noted that B&N does "a huge amount of business” from customers who order books online and then pick them up in a store.

[fjtorres]

Riggio said that while Nook is significantly smaller, he still wants B&N to be able to sell customers an e-book if that is what they want.

"...if that's what they want."

Kinda grudging-sounding, isn't it?

Still, grudging or not, there seems to be enough Nook loyalists for Nook to outsell Kobo in the english language markets. Now imagine how they might do if they actively tried to sell ebooks.

There's still some value in there.

[Apache]

If he still wants me to buy ebooks form B&N he will need to allow me to download them to my computer. Also they should allow me to use their coupons with ebooks.
Apache

[Barty]

Originally Posted by rhadin

One neighbor hasn't bought an ebook in nearly 2 years; she prefers paperbacks. My daughter stopped buying ebooks a little more than a year ago; she, too, prefers paperbacks. My son stopped buying them and gets print books from either my library or the public library. And the list goes on.
.

Interesting. Everyone I know who has a dedicated reader is still reading ebooks and showing no sign of switching back to paper. They may read a pbook occasionally if that's what's available, but that's it. Now there are people who try a few on their tablet and decide they don't care for screen reading, or people who just don't read enough to warrant buying an e-reader, but I don't know anyone who was into ebooks and decided nope, enough of that.

[gbm]

Originally Posted by Apache

If he still wants me to buy ebooks form B&N he will need to allow me to download them to my computer. Also they should allow me to use their coupons with ebooks.
Apache

The nearest B&N store is a three hour round trip for me, so nook is the way I need B&N.

bernie

[Wearever]

It sounds to me that Riggio wants to sell only paper books, he said it was a mistake to expand into digital devices ( Nooks) although he'll still offer the small $50 Nook,and he'll still sell e-books if they ( customers ) want it. Also he likes the online business with people picking up their paper books from the store. So it's probably as good as it gets from his prospective.