Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble: Will The Bookseller Survive?
Books have played an important role not only in spreading the idea of democracy but also in connecting us to new ideas to both our reality and fantasy experiences. Advances in technology seem to happen quicker and quicker with each passing day forcing change to what may or may not be a standard in today’s society. Not so long ago cell phones were new and the size of bricks. Only the elite were fortunate to have a cell phone. Today kids younger than ten have cell phones. Without the development of printing presses and books, the idea of democracy would be hard to imagine. With about eighteen thousand outlets selling books in the US, traditional bookstores and book sales are dominated by two large chains: Borders Waldenbooks and Barnes & Noble (Bettina, 2012). These chains operate hundreds of stores each and account for about one quarter of all book sales. This paper aims to discuss the critical processes within the growth and survival of Barnes and Noble into the digital age.
With the advancement of technology, businesses must adapt and evolve to survive or risk of being phased out, not intentionally but as a side effect to not offering things either quickly enough or efficient enough. The internet is a wonderful thing and what is even more wonderful is the ability to shop at home and never have to leave your house. One area of the retail store market which has seen much conflict is the book industry. However, shopping mall bookstores have boosted book sales since the late 1960s (Bettina, 2012). The idea was to adapt the large retail store concept, such as Home Depot or Walmart, to the book trade. A typical superstore now stocks up to 200,000 titles, compared with the 20,000 titles found in older mall stores (Bettina). As superstores expanded, they began to sell recorded music and feature coffee shops and live performances. Borders had grown from 14 superstores in 1991 to more than 508 superstores by 2012, but
Books have played an important role not only in spreading the idea of democracy but also in connecting us to new ideas to both our reality and fantasy experiences. Advances in technology seem to happen quicker and quicker with each passing day forcing change to what may or may not be a standard in today’s society. Not so long ago cell phones were new and the size of bricks. Only the elite were fortunate to have a cell phone. Today kids younger than ten have cell phones. Without the development of printing presses and books, the idea of democracy would be hard to imagine. With about eighteen thousand outlets selling books in the US, traditional bookstores and book sales are dominated by two large chains: Borders Waldenbooks and Barnes & Noble (Bettina, 2012). These chains operate hundreds of stores each and account for about one quarter of all book sales. This paper aims to discuss the critical processes within the growth and survival of Barnes and Noble into the digital age.
With the advancement of technology, businesses must adapt and evolve to survive or risk of being phased out, not intentionally but as a side effect to not offering things either quickly enough or efficient enough. The internet is a wonderful thing and what is even more wonderful is the ability to shop at home and never have to leave your house. One area of the retail store market which has seen much conflict is the book industry. However, shopping mall bookstores have boosted book sales since the late 1960s (Bettina, 2012). The idea was to adapt the large retail store concept, such as Home Depot or Walmart, to the book trade. A typical superstore now stocks up to 200,000 titles, compared with the 20,000 titles found in older mall stores (Bettina). As superstores expanded, they began to sell recorded music and feature coffee shops and live performances. Borders had grown from 14 superstores in 1991 to more than 508 superstores by 2012, but