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Barnes & Noble Removes Nook Signage From Stores

When Barnes & Noble started taking the Nook kiosks out of its stores this summer, they moved the hardware to the customer service desk and put up big signs that promoted Nook hardware and B&N’s ebook platform.

Now those signs have come down.

I was at a Barnes & Noble today while waiting for a vet visit to wind up, and I noticed that the signs over the customer service desk no longer mention the Nook. Now one promotes picking up online orders in B&N stores, and the other generically recommends the hottest new releases.

Yes, the hardware was still there, but you would have to look closely to spot it, kinda like you would have to look carefully at B&N’s quarterly SEC filings to spot any mention of B&N’s Nook revenues.

The Nook revenues weren’t mentioned in either the press release or earnings call in the most recent quarter, but the 10-Q report showed that Barnes & Noble sold $21.7 million in ebooks and hardware in the quarter ending 27 October.

That is a steep decline from the Nook’s heyday of 2010 to 2012, when the Nook occupied prime real estate at the front of B&N stores, when B&N was even talking about rebuilding stores to give them a whole Nook department.

Alas, that plan never got beyond a few pilot stores like the one in Fredericksburg, VA.  Instead, the Nook imploded in late 2012, and it has been in a downward spiral ever since.

Interestingly enough, B&N’s plans shrank with Nook revenues. They’ve abandoned their large concept stores in favor of stores with footprints not much larger than the Nook dept in the Fredericksburg store.

The store planned for Fairfax, VA, for example, is listed at 8,630 square feet. In comparison, at its peak B&N stores exceeded forty thousand square feet.

Those larger stores are mostly closing now as their leases expire, a relic of a different era.

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Comments


Apparition January 15, 2019 um 11:00 am

R.I.P. Nook. Gone, and largely forgotten.


theSFReader January 15, 2019 um 1:13 pm

For what it’s worth, Nook was my first ereader, and I thiught it was a good idea. unfortunately, as a non US customer, I had absolutely NO WAY to buy books for it from B&N. So I learned to bypass the DRM and buy from elsewhere.

That limitation to US customers only (had to use a VPN if I did want to buy from them), plus not jumping on the self-publishing bandwagon are both factors that I think played a role in the Nook’s failure.

When my ereader died, I did replace the Nook by an other ereader, but didn’t even consider buying from B&N again.


Brenda Kosarew January 16, 2019 um 12:09 am

I do still use my nook app but I don’t usually buy from B&N because I hate paying more for digital than for a paper book!


Jill Alexandra Rock January 16, 2019 um 9:22 am

I have a special NOOK Tab A e-reader designed with Samsung. I also have the NOOK app on my smartphone. I love buying ebooks with NOOK. I find I save much more money than buying print. I love Barnes & Noble, they did a wonderful job getting their products digitally to customers. NOOK was innovative at the time. Amazon’s Kindle was it’s competitor, but now no one associates Amazon with books and reading, do they? Barnes & Noble remains a true bookstore. NOOK Love!


Patricia Bongeorno January 16, 2019 um 9:51 am

I love my Nook . It is a Samsung. I hsve over 600 books. I have nevet read more. I think it was o e of Barnes abd Nobkes great ideas.


TK January 16, 2019 um 1:51 pm

The problem is that eBooks should not cost the same as paper. You very rarely pay less for electronic. They don’t have to print it. I don’t understand the same price. B&N never gives coupons off Nook books either.


CR75 January 16, 2019 um 3:18 pm

Those signs change every quarter.


Dawn January 16, 2019 um 3:20 pm

I loved my.Nook & recently purchased a Samsung tablet from B&N. I read a lot but seldom purchase books from B&N because I feel ebooks should be cheaper. I buy through BookBub & others through B&N account but can’t get titles I want most of the time so still use the library. Why are ebooks priced so high?


L.Wirth January 16, 2019 um 3:40 pm

I am on my third nook. This one by samsung. I love that my books are always stored with Barnes and Noble. I always have a library full of books available to me wherever I go. Barnes and noble have my loyalty always.


D Gilbert January 16, 2019 um 3:42 pm

You say "those larger stores are mostly closing…" Do you have a list of large Barnes and Noble closing stores?


lea January 17, 2019 um 1:13 am

I have Nook, I love the app,like that I can read books ,not need spaces and shelves for them ,can read everytime and every places because its in the cell and save me time to go to the store


Bill Brodie April 11, 2019 um 11:01 am

I love my Nookglowlight 3 but I went and got a Kindle paper white because you don’t know Wether BN is going out of buisiness or not and Ian not paying money for books then have to loose the ability to use my nook. I would rather use a kindle that I know is going to be around awhile sorry just my opinion.if bandmasters and mobile would take interest in building a better ereader and care more about costumers they could complete with Amazon and make a profit. The glow light 3 is a decent reader but the waterproof concept they had was a good idea wish they would have kept it and the turn page buttons was the best idea. How about a faster processessor.


Tony August 23, 2019 um 3:43 am

I was an avid Nook fan from the first generation up to the Glowlight, but the reason I switched from Nook to Kindle is that the Nook synchronization across devices is not consistent. When I switch reading from my Nook reader to my tablet, phone, or vice-versa, it’s a 50/50 chance that it will not synchronize to my furthest read page. In contrast, I have never had that issue with the Kindle. I had spoken to customer service about this issue several times, but it’s still an issue. Currently, I still use my Nook eReader and have loaded the Nook App on my Amazon Fire Tablet to read my previous purchases, but do not buy content from B&N.


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