Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Barnes & Noble sales up 5–6%

Barnes & Noble (B&N) CEO James Daunt is confident the bookselling chain can ‘weather the Covid storm’ with book sales ‘resilient’ during the recession, reports Publishers Weekly (PW).

In an interview with PW, Daunt said B&N’s sales were up about 5–6% so far this year compared to 2019, with book sales up by double digits. B&N’s café and newsstand results continue to be hurt by the pandemic, with urban areas—particularly New York City—having the hardest time recovering.

Daunt has led the charge to give local store managers more control over which books they sell and how they sell them in their stores. ‘Managers are in charge of the way the titles are presented,’ Daunt said. While most stores will carry many of the same titles, where they’re placed and in what quantity they’re ordered is left to managers.

B&N has opened six new stores since Daunt took over as CEO in 2019, with another eight expected to open over the next month. However, the company will continue to close underperforming outlets, and Daunt expects to finish the year with about 625 stores—the same number of locations B&N had at the start of the year.

 

Category: International news