On the Media - Bookish

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by tomsem

B&N seems to be doing better with the new ownership, and is opening new stores again, letting the locals manage the displays instead of taking money from publishers to dictate it.

Here's hoping. I'd really like to see them pay attention to their Nooks again. That was such a fumbled opportunity they had.

And supposedly there have been 600 new independent bookstores opened in the last couple of years.

Yeah, the question is where have those 600 stores opened? I live in a fairly upscale suburb of Houston and bookstores here are scarce. It is easier for me to count the closed bookstores than any new ones that opened.

I suspect New York and maybe places like Seattle and Portland are seeing new indie bookstores and it is being over reported. But maybe I am wrong.

I don't have any personal anecdotes to contribute, as there aren't any bookstores near, and it's been years since I've gone into one.

I have a $50 B&N gift card. I'll likely let my kid blow it on graphic novels.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

I think this post summed up why eBooks have not taken over:

100$ in my country is like 3 months salary

Reader prices have not fallen enough. When the eInk patents expire, I think the picture will change. But reader prices today are still a barrier.

Out of perhaps morbid curiosity, did you actually think about the number you quoted?

A quick check says that the average monthly salary in South Africa is a bit higher than 33.33 US$ per month ($100/3). BusinessTech in an article from 2022-Dec-15 entitled This is the average salary in South Africa right now states the average monthly salary is 24,813 ZAR which converts to ~1,450 US$ per month so 100 US$ is approximately 2 days wages. The numbers found on 6 other websites agreed fairly closely (within 4%). The average monthly salary for Africa is 758 US$ per month and most African employers pay their employees a lot less than South African employers pay their employees.

Heck, the minimum wage in South Africa reached 23.19 ZAR in 2022 so to earn 100 US$ would require about 73 hours of work or an average of ~24 hours per month. Perhaps the OP works a single 6 hour shift on weekends at the local KFC?

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Here's hoping. I'd really like to see them pay attention to their Nooks again. That was such a fumbled opportunity they had.

Perhaps, but I really don't know how it was ever going to work for them. They need people to come to the store to buy books and move inventory. And every ebook one of their customers buys means another book left on the shelf. It's better to focus on one thing and do a good job at it. It's a mixed message to feature a Nook kiosk: 'hey did you know you don't need to bother coming to the store'?

Yeah, the question is where have those 600 stores opened? I live in a fairly upscale suburb of Houston and bookstores here are scarce. It is easier for me to count the closed bookstores than any new ones that opened.

Probably more like 300, with another 200 'in the works'. I think this is the article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/b...smid=share-url
(gift link)
Also:
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news...ver-nyc-092922

[tomsem]

Here's another column about B&N's turnaround:

https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/what...rom-barnes-and

But I finally have good news to share. I have a positive case study—and we can learn from it.

Here’s the surprise: This company has been a failure at digital media, and has succeeded by embracing the most antiquated technology of them all: the printed book.

That’s quite an achievement. So let’s look at the turnaround at Barnes & Noble.

The turnaround has delivered remarkable results. Barnes & Noble opened 16 new bookstores in 2022, and now will double that pace of openings in 2023. In a year of collapsing digital platforms, this 136-year-old purveyor of print media is enjoying boom times.

But I almost hate to say it, because the lesson is so simple.

If you want to sell music, you must love those songs. If you want to succeed in journalism, you must love those newspapers. If you want to succeed in movies, you must love the cinema.

What does this mean for Nook platform? I think it's good news, they can afford to be more patient with it, as long as it isn't burdened with glowing expectations. The hardware lineup is embarrassingly thin, but maybe we'll see a 7" Nook this year at least. Ebooks and Audiobooks are still promoted prominently on the web site.