10-10-2018, 10:29 AM | #31 | |
Gentleman and scholar
Posts: 10,987
Karma: 108309641
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Space City, Texas
Device: Clara HD; Nook ST w/Glowlight, (2015) Glowlight Plus, Paperwhite 3
|
Quote:
Yeah, there's specialty bookstores and giant used bookstores. But Barnes and Noble and Borders replaced B. Dalton and Waldenbooks and most of those old stores could have been fit into half of the upper floor of my current Barnes and Noble. |
|
10-10-2018, 05:09 PM | #32 |
Readaholic
Posts: 5,137
Karma: 89858112
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: South Georgia
Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"
|
You should have seen the multi storied B&N in Flushing, New York. I wanted to move in and live there.
Apache |
Advert | |
|
10-15-2018, 10:37 AM | #33 |
monkey on the fringe
Posts: 45,477
Karma: 158151390
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Seattle Metro
Device: Moto E6, Echo Show
|
Speaking of staying afloat, Sears filed for bankruptcy this morning. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
Sears, the store that changed America, declares bankruptcy |
10-15-2018, 07:23 PM | #34 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 7,334
Karma: 27815322
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Southeastern U.S., ya'll
Device: Kindle; Kindle (10.1.1) for PC; Kindle Cloud Reader
|
Quote:
My first foray was in 1978. Those were the glory days, but I didn't realize it. The next two times that I worked for Sears were pleasant. The most recent time was in about 2003. It was a very different company, and not for the better. The last that I heard, a hedge fund manager was over Sears. The scuttlebutt is that he wasn't interested in running a retail company (most hedge fund managers probably aren't. ha), he was interested in making money by selling the Sears store brands that had been very profitable--Craftsman, Kenmore, etc. I'd say that the demise of B&N and Sears were for very different reasons--one because of making bad business decisions in the midst of challenging market conditions (e.g., the soaring sales of ebooks, in contrast to traditional books). The other company, Sears, because they intentionally fell on their sword. ADDENDUM: One regional big-box bookstore chain, Books-A-Million (BAM), seems to have navigated well against the headwinds. Interestingly, they basically have stayed out of the ebook business, although they do sell a handful of ebooks on their website, in a very, very low key manner. Last edited by GtrsRGr8; 10-16-2018 at 12:06 AM. |
|
10-15-2018, 09:33 PM | #35 | |
eReader Wrangler
Posts: 7,441
Karma: 48453105
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Boise, ID
Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD
|
Quote:
|
|
Advert | |
|
10-15-2018, 09:53 PM | #36 |
monkey on the fringe
Posts: 45,477
Karma: 158151390
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Seattle Metro
Device: Moto E6, Echo Show
|
Maybe everyone else should call it quits and let Amazon be the one and only retailer for the US
|
10-16-2018, 09:41 AM | #37 | |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
Posts: 12,375
Karma: 23555235
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: DC Metro area
Device: Shake a stick plus 1
|
Quote:
to give you an analogy, Toys-R-Us was a hit and run, while Sears/KMart was a decade-long auto-da-fe. Sears and KMart were run by a psychopath who tried to apply Ayn Rand's principle's to running a business. It did not go well: https://www.salon.com/2013/07/18/ayn...ium=socialflow |
|
10-16-2018, 10:08 AM | #38 | |
Gentleman and scholar
Posts: 10,987
Karma: 108309641
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Space City, Texas
Device: Clara HD; Nook ST w/Glowlight, (2015) Glowlight Plus, Paperwhite 3
|
Quote:
I'm a very liberal 'let's save everyone and hug them too!' type. But really, Toys R Us or [insert company name here] wouldn't have been in that position if their business was run well in the first place. Sears was bought out so the successful brands could be parted off. But if Sears as a chain of stores was still a successful business idea that was run poorly, it would have been rescued. Even though it makes me sad, the same is likely true for B&N. The days of the big box book store are likely behind us and won't come back. I have a successful Barnes and Noble in my neighborhood. I like knowing it is there. But the truth is, I rarely go there. |
|
10-16-2018, 10:23 AM | #39 | |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
Posts: 12,375
Karma: 23555235
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: DC Metro area
Device: Shake a stick plus 1
|
Quote:
One of the problem with the news industry right now is that financially healthy local newspapers are being bought up by venture funds and systematically strangled. Killing the golden goose is quite profitable. |
|
10-16-2018, 10:45 AM | #40 |
eReader Wrangler
Posts: 7,441
Karma: 48453105
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Boise, ID
Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD
|
No. Leveraged buyout vultures find companies that are established, have good credit and then buy a controlling interest. Then they take out huge loans on the good name of that company, and milk it as it dwindles because all it can afford to do now is pay the interest on the freaking loan the vultures burdened it with. Even in it's last year, Toys-R-Us was bringing in $11 billion dollars. That's why the banks have decided (or at least are mulling) bringing back Toys-R-Us. They know that, without the vulture debt, Toys-R-Us could be a going business again. And the toy makers are desperate for a real retail toy outlet.
|
10-16-2018, 10:48 AM | #41 |
eReader Wrangler
Posts: 7,441
Karma: 48453105
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Boise, ID
Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD
|
They're even doing it to a company like Verizon now. They brought in the CEO who decimated Siemens and he's overseeing the ripping apart of Verizon. Short term profits for the greedy vultures, hundreds of thousands out of work.
|
10-16-2018, 10:56 AM | #42 | ||
Gentleman and scholar
Posts: 10,987
Karma: 108309641
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Space City, Texas
Device: Clara HD; Nook ST w/Glowlight, (2015) Glowlight Plus, Paperwhite 3
|
Quote:
Quote:
Bain did dismantle KayBee Toys as you describe. But Toys R Us had more serious problems. |
||
10-16-2018, 11:35 AM | #43 | ||
eReader Wrangler
Posts: 7,441
Karma: 48453105
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Boise, ID
Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD
|
Quote:
http://theweek.com/articles/761124/h...sts-ate-toys-r Quote:
|
||
10-16-2018, 12:19 PM | #44 | |
Gentleman and scholar
Posts: 10,987
Karma: 108309641
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Space City, Texas
Device: Clara HD; Nook ST w/Glowlight, (2015) Glowlight Plus, Paperwhite 3
|
Clearly. From your same article (which is an opinion piece rather than straight reporting):
Quote:
|
|
10-16-2018, 12:28 PM | #45 |
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
|
Some LBOs work out well for the company; they're not all about vulturing.
DELL being one case where going private allowed the company to retool away from Wall Street pressures. BAM seems to be surviving after going private, too. |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Using pubit/selling with B&N outside the US? | fiona86 | Barnes & Noble NOOK | 1 | 02-02-2012 01:13 PM |
Classic B&N no longer selling ebooks! | bgalbrecht | Barnes & Noble NOOK | 7 | 10-26-2010 05:43 PM |
Do annotations & notes stay with book? | bugeyed | Sony Reader | 1 | 07-13-2010 09:07 AM |
B&N selling ePub is a sham! | JSWolf | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 10 | 04-05-2010 02:09 AM |