B&N should sell off their stores and focus on their website
So B&N are thinking about putting the company up for sale and try to go private. From the press release:
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today announced that its Board of Directors intends to evaluate strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company, in order to increase stockholder value. The Board came to this decision based on the price of Barnes & Noble shares in the marketplace, which the Board believes are now significantly undervalued.
There's a lot of talk about who should buy the company, and I've decided to take the radical position: no one. I think B&N should rebrand themselves as a web retailer. The income generated by the stores has gone down for the last 3 years in a row. Only the website is doing well. I think they should give up on the brick and mortar presence entirely.
What do they have to lose?
However that would be bad news for the Nook, since their whole strategy to this point has been focused around in-store extras and getting to try out the Nook in person.
But the Nook is also in Best Buy and it could be sold in other stores.
Would the Best Buy staff really give a damn about presenting the Nook properly or in style, as B&N stores do? I doubt it!
Best Buy corporate certainly give a damn. The Nook has a very nice display at my local BB.