Barnes and Noble internal analysis
Executive Summary
Barnes and Noble is the market leader in the bookstore industry. They have grown their business during tough economic times and have adapted well to the changing consumer demands as technology has advanced. By continuing to enhance their competitive strategy to align themselves with market demands, Barnes and Noble, with its multi-channel distribution platform, will continue to have success in the coming years as competition will feel the pressures of increasing digital mediums and decreasing hard copy book demand. This internal analysis of Barnes and Noble will examine their competitive position with regards to their value chain and strategic issues, as well as examine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Value Chain Analysis
In order to evaluate Barnes and Noble’s competitive position in its industry, a value chain analysis has to be completed. The first step of this evaluation is looking at the primary activities and their cost effectiveness. With regards to supply chain management, Barnes and Noble has a long standing relationship with the publisher Simon and Schuster. The book store company manages their inventory wisely in order to keep costs at a minimal for their customers. In an article printed in the Atlantic magazine, Barnes and Noble has been cutting back purchases from the publisher due to the inability to come to an agreement on discounts and advertising. This shows that the supply chain management team is focused on ensuring they are not overextending their cost of goods sold to drive store profitability. In addition, they own Sterling Publishing Company which cuts the middle man out of the non-fiction trade-book publisher purchases. As a percentage of sales, Barnes and Noble has historically kept cost of goods sold at around 73%. This is an area that will require a lot of attention as the industry decreases its focus on retail books and moves toward digital books, allowing occupancy costs to come down as
Barnes and Noble is the market leader in the bookstore industry. They have grown their business during tough economic times and have adapted well to the changing consumer demands as technology has advanced. By continuing to enhance their competitive strategy to align themselves with market demands, Barnes and Noble, with its multi-channel distribution platform, will continue to have success in the coming years as competition will feel the pressures of increasing digital mediums and decreasing hard copy book demand. This internal analysis of Barnes and Noble will examine their competitive position with regards to their value chain and strategic issues, as well as examine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Value Chain Analysis
In order to evaluate Barnes and Noble’s competitive position in its industry, a value chain analysis has to be completed. The first step of this evaluation is looking at the primary activities and their cost effectiveness. With regards to supply chain management, Barnes and Noble has a long standing relationship with the publisher Simon and Schuster. The book store company manages their inventory wisely in order to keep costs at a minimal for their customers. In an article printed in the Atlantic magazine, Barnes and Noble has been cutting back purchases from the publisher due to the inability to come to an agreement on discounts and advertising. This shows that the supply chain management team is focused on ensuring they are not overextending their cost of goods sold to drive store profitability. In addition, they own Sterling Publishing Company which cuts the middle man out of the non-fiction trade-book publisher purchases. As a percentage of sales, Barnes and Noble has historically kept cost of goods sold at around 73%. This is an area that will require a lot of attention as the industry decreases its focus on retail books and moves toward digital books, allowing occupancy costs to come down as