Whoa. That is thought provoking.
B&N deNOOKing and/or Splitting in Half
From the NYTimes:
B&N reportedly to 'move away' from making Nook hardware
A person familiar with Barnes & Nobles's strategy acknowledged that this quarter, which includes holiday sales, has caused executives to realize the company must move away from its program to engineer and build its own devices and focus more on licensing its content to other device makers.
"They are not completely getting out of the hardware business, but they are going to lean a lot more on the comprehensive digital catalog of content," said this person, who asked not to be identified discussing corporate strategy.
On Thursday, the person said, the company will emphasize its commitment to intensify partnerships with other tablet producers like Microsoft and Samsung to make deals for content that it controls.
If Barnes & Noble does indeed pull back from building tablets, it would be a 180-degree shift for a company that as late as last year was promoting the Nook as its future. "Had we not launched devices and spent the money we invested in the Nook, investors and analysts would have said, 'Barnes & Noble is crazy, and they're going to go away,' " William Lynch, the company's chief executive, said in an interview last January.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/business/media/barnes-noble-weighs-its-nook-losses.html?hp&_r=0
From the WSJ:
Nook Media May Have Boxed Itself into a Corner
Earlier this month, B&N again lowered forecasts for the Nook unit. It now says it expects fiscal 2013 losses in terms of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the business to exceed those of fiscal 2012, which ended in April. It also expects Nook revenue to fall below a previously forecast $3 billion. B&N on Thursday is due to report fiscal third-quarter earnings.
In fiscal 2012, the Nook and college segments had a combined $2.7 billion in revenue-38% of B&N's total-and an Ebitda loss of $146 million. Management had said at the end of that year that Nook losses would decrease in fiscal 2013 as the platform reached a critical mass of users.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323864304578320513317943432.html
And from Bloomberg:
Barnes & Noble's Riggio Said to Offer to Buy Bookstore Unit
Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS)'s founder and chairman, Leonard Riggio, told the bookstore chain he is interested in buying its consumer business and spinning out the unit that makes the Nook tablet, said a person familiar with the matter.
Riggio, who still owns about 30 percent of the company's stock, has told the board of his interest without starting a formal process yet, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Riggio has made a preliminary proposal and may make it more official this week, the person said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-25/barnes-noble-s-riggio-said-to-offer-to-buy-out-bookstore-unit.html
Shocking, right?
B.
ETA 3/28: B&N SEC filings are now availible: http://forinvestors.barnesandnobleinc.com/edgar.cfm
B&N reportedly to 'move away' from making Nook hardware
A person familiar with Barnes & Nobles's strategy acknowledged that this quarter, which includes holiday sales, has caused executives to realize the company must move away from its program to engineer and build its own devices and focus more on licensing its content to other device makers.
"They are not completely getting out of the hardware business, but they are going to lean a lot more on the comprehensive digital catalog of content," said this person, who asked not to be identified discussing corporate strategy.
On Thursday, the person said, the company will emphasize its commitment to intensify partnerships with other tablet producers like Microsoft and Samsung to make deals for content that it controls.
If Barnes & Noble does indeed pull back from building tablets, it would be a 180-degree shift for a company that as late as last year was promoting the Nook as its future. "Had we not launched devices and spent the money we invested in the Nook, investors and analysts would have said, 'Barnes & Noble is crazy, and they're going to go away,' " William Lynch, the company's chief executive, said in an interview last January.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/business/media/barnes-noble-weighs-its-nook-losses.html?hp&_r=0
From the WSJ:
Nook Media May Have Boxed Itself into a Corner
Earlier this month, B&N again lowered forecasts for the Nook unit. It now says it expects fiscal 2013 losses in terms of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the business to exceed those of fiscal 2012, which ended in April. It also expects Nook revenue to fall below a previously forecast $3 billion. B&N on Thursday is due to report fiscal third-quarter earnings.
In fiscal 2012, the Nook and college segments had a combined $2.7 billion in revenue-38% of B&N's total-and an Ebitda loss of $146 million. Management had said at the end of that year that Nook losses would decrease in fiscal 2013 as the platform reached a critical mass of users.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323864304578320513317943432.html
And from Bloomberg:
Barnes & Noble's Riggio Said to Offer to Buy Bookstore Unit
Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS)'s founder and chairman, Leonard Riggio, told the bookstore chain he is interested in buying its consumer business and spinning out the unit that makes the Nook tablet, said a person familiar with the matter.
Riggio, who still owns about 30 percent of the company's stock, has told the board of his interest without starting a formal process yet, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Riggio has made a preliminary proposal and may make it more official this week, the person said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-25/barnes-noble-s-riggio-said-to-offer-to-buy-out-bookstore-unit.html
Shocking, right?
B.
ETA 3/28: B&N SEC filings are now availible: http://forinvestors.barnesandnobleinc.com/edgar.cfm
1 - 20 of 62 Posts
Good thing they have that great website to fall back on. *shudder*
No wonder the Zon isn't interested in free offerings anymore.
It's just about game, set, match.
B.
No wonder the Zon isn't interested in free offerings anymore.
It's just about game, set, match.
B.
My sister works at Barnes and Noble and when the Nook came out I told her that it was a mistake for B&N. At the time I was not a writer and I worked for Dell. My argument was: here is a company that creates nothing, but gains everything by selling other people's products. Their business model was unique in that there was no risk to the company. If the product didn't sell, they got to return it and get their money back. That's unheard of in the world of business. That's like a restaurant making 100 hamburgers and if 50 of them don't sell, the butcher buys back the meat.
Now B&N wants to get into manufacturing, developing, marketing, support and distribution of a e-reader/tablet device? I asked my sister if they had any idea what something like that is going to cost. Also they were late to the game. Kindle had been out for a while and iPads were only six months away and they were going to be a superior device. All B&N needed was an app. Instead they sunk a lot of money into a device that can't compete and forced their employees to sell them. It was clear they had no clue what they were doing when they sold the Nook that had free unlimited AT&T 3G wireless access with an Android OS.
The Nook drives people out of their stores. B&N stores are their strongest asset and they stabbed it in the back.
Shocking and thought provoking? I say, "It's about time."
Now B&N wants to get into manufacturing, developing, marketing, support and distribution of a e-reader/tablet device? I asked my sister if they had any idea what something like that is going to cost. Also they were late to the game. Kindle had been out for a while and iPads were only six months away and they were going to be a superior device. All B&N needed was an app. Instead they sunk a lot of money into a device that can't compete and forced their employees to sell them. It was clear they had no clue what they were doing when they sold the Nook that had free unlimited AT&T 3G wireless access with an Android OS.
The Nook drives people out of their stores. B&N stores are their strongest asset and they stabbed it in the back.
Shocking and thought provoking? I say, "It's about time."
I actually think that they sorta kinda got the hardware right. (I'm a happy NOOK owner.)
IMHO, it was the everything else* that was the problem.
B.
*see: website, search, also-boughts, search, customer service, search, author outreach, and search.
IMHO, it was the everything else* that was the problem.
B.
*see: website, search, also-boughts, search, customer service, search, author outreach, and search.
They made the mistake so many failed businesses before them made: they didn't listen to the customer. *shakes head*
Wow. This is an interesting development. Apps is a great option, but with B&N having their own device they can build their own market. Tablets are just getting out there and taking over though for the ereaders. Great news for Indie Authors.
It's so unpredictable though. And I think SBJones is right that Barnes and Noble got in the market late. The invention of tablets has changed things for ereaders. Kindle Fires are tablet-like, and I was looking over the Nook. It is very tablet like. If Barnes and Noble were smart, they'd cut the price of the Nook to near wholesale. I mean, I know in retail the price is like tripled. Just lowering it to below a tablet might be a good idea. Tablets are big. Nooks and Kindles are book size. Who knows. We definitely need a thinking out of the box approach. If they tried doing something like signing up with a book program and you get a Nook, maybe that would help. You know, what happens for signing up with a contract for smart phones?
It's so unpredictable though. And I think SBJones is right that Barnes and Noble got in the market late. The invention of tablets has changed things for ereaders. Kindle Fires are tablet-like, and I was looking over the Nook. It is very tablet like. If Barnes and Noble were smart, they'd cut the price of the Nook to near wholesale. I mean, I know in retail the price is like tripled. Just lowering it to below a tablet might be a good idea. Tablets are big. Nooks and Kindles are book size. Who knows. We definitely need a thinking out of the box approach. If they tried doing something like signing up with a book program and you get a Nook, maybe that would help. You know, what happens for signing up with a contract for smart phones?
Hmmm, interesting.
Now it seems almost pointless to go to all the trouble to get our books up on the Nook. If they aren't going to be producing them anymore.
Now it seems almost pointless to go to all the trouble to get our books up on the Nook. If they aren't going to be producing them anymore.
I agree. I love my e-ink Nook. Their clunky awkward app is, in my opinion, not where they should be focusing their attention (unless they were to make it less clunky and awkward...).B. Justin Shier said:I actually think that they sorta kinda got the hardware right. (I'm a happy NOOK owner.)
IMHO, it was the everything else* that was the problem.
B.
*see: website, search, also-boughts, search, customer service, search, author outreach, and search.
For us as authors though, it's not a question of whether B&N sells Nooks, but whether they can sell our books. I don't care what platform people read on. I'd be most happy with one format that can be read on any device whatsoever.Vivi_Anna said:Hmmm, interesting.
Now it seems almost pointless to go to all the trouble to get our books up on the Nook. If they aren't going to be producing them anymore.
I don't care about devices. I care about great, really awesome, bookstores and booksellers.
BN sells a lot of ebooks. At least 10% of Amazon's numbers, probably 12-16%. I hope they're able to keep things running, because for whatever trouble they might be in, they're still a significant market.
As an author, trying to use PubIt!, I have had an unbelievable amount of trouble and grief. I finally after 2 months was able to speak to a CS rep. Just go to their support forums and you will see the mess their PubIt! service is in. I wonder if they can keep that afloat at all. The only way I see it surviving is if someone else buys it and revamps it from the ground up. Now that they won't be selling Nooks, why would anyone bother at all? Name recognition? Seems it would be easier to simply make a competing service.
It is absolutely astonishing to me how companies that succeed with something like the Nook (and it is successful, no matter how much spin is put on it) turn around and declare it a failure then do everything in their power to destroy it.
This happens more and more often, but especially in technology. Numerous tech pundits even took swipes at the Kindle Fire because it isn't an iPad. Of course then they realized that the Kindle Fire is pwnflakes with a side of awesome sauce (at 1/3 the price) and they backed off for fear of looking like total idiots.
If something isn't an instant 50000% return blockbuster hit, it's a disastrous failure and must be thrown overboard along with everyone who ever worked on it.
Takes 20 years to build a business. Those rules do not change, no matter how much money and attitude you throw at it.
Everything that has ever worked for Barnes and Noble has been abandoned by Barnes and Noble. I wish them luck.
This happens more and more often, but especially in technology. Numerous tech pundits even took swipes at the Kindle Fire because it isn't an iPad. Of course then they realized that the Kindle Fire is pwnflakes with a side of awesome sauce (at 1/3 the price) and they backed off for fear of looking like total idiots.
If something isn't an instant 50000% return blockbuster hit, it's a disastrous failure and must be thrown overboard along with everyone who ever worked on it.
Takes 20 years to build a business. Those rules do not change, no matter how much money and attitude you throw at it.
Everything that has ever worked for Barnes and Noble has been abandoned by Barnes and Noble. I wish them luck.
You can download the nook software on other devices than nook. I have downloaded it on my Mac for instance. The market is not dead yet.Vivi_Anna said:Hmmm, interesting.
Now it seems almost pointless to go to all the trouble to get our books up on the Nook. If they aren't going to be producing them anymore.
I bought a Noook Tablet once but had to return it. I knew I made a mistake, and they did too, when I had to pay $3 for The Angry Birds app. I took it back and bought a Samsung Tablet (same price). Now I could buy Angry Birds for free. I told the sales rep that it was the restrictions on their operating system that did it in. It wasn't a bad device otherwise.
I hope the Nook market doesn't go under. Lately, I'm making close to as much on B&N as I am on Amazon. Here's hoping they hang in there!
I am curious, though; if they don't think the Nook is their future, what do they think is their future? We already know they don't plan on expanding, and that they will be closing a boatload of stores. Is the future for B&N (and brick-and-mortar bookstores in general) just a few flagship stores? That doesn't sound like a feasible long-term strategy. Unless they have some really brilliant idea about how to grow their brick-and-mortar business, I personally would be hanging onto the Nook with all I had, and trying really, really hard to make that market grow.
I am curious, though; if they don't think the Nook is their future, what do they think is their future? We already know they don't plan on expanding, and that they will be closing a boatload of stores. Is the future for B&N (and brick-and-mortar bookstores in general) just a few flagship stores? That doesn't sound like a feasible long-term strategy. Unless they have some really brilliant idea about how to grow their brick-and-mortar business, I personally would be hanging onto the Nook with all I had, and trying really, really hard to make that market grow.
Their future is the same one as Borders. Eventually B&N will go under. Nook may survive is it gets bought up by a strong company like Samsung, but maybe not.I am curious, though; if they don't think the Nook is their future, what do they think is their future? We already know they don't plan on expanding, and that they will be closing a boatload of stores. Is the future for B&N (and brick-and-mortar bookstores in general) just a few flagship stores? That doesn't sound like a feasible long-term strategy. Unless they have some really brilliant idea about how to grow their brick-and-mortar business, I personally would be hanging onto the Nook with all I had, and trying really, really hard to make that market grow.
I love B&N bookstores, but I don't know how they will survive.
It's amazing that their sales on paper books were down at Christmas. You'd think with Borders out of business, they would have scooped on it.
This is where I think Prime is winning it for Amazon. Offering free shipping and free gift wrapping, it's a no-brainer. You can do all your Christmas shopping, no aggravation, from the comfort of your recliner, drop in a personal note with the wrapped-by-human-hands presents.
I purchased The Hunger Games hardcover set for my daughter at Christmas from Amazon, and it was cheaper than Wal-Mart, included free wrapping, and a note, right to the door delivery. It sure beat driving 45 minutes away to B&N and being charged a higher price by them, too.
B&N must step up their website game.
This is where I think Prime is winning it for Amazon. Offering free shipping and free gift wrapping, it's a no-brainer. You can do all your Christmas shopping, no aggravation, from the comfort of your recliner, drop in a personal note with the wrapped-by-human-hands presents.
I purchased The Hunger Games hardcover set for my daughter at Christmas from Amazon, and it was cheaper than Wal-Mart, included free wrapping, and a note, right to the door delivery. It sure beat driving 45 minutes away to B&N and being charged a higher price by them, too.
B&N must step up their website game.
My wife's brother gave her a $50 gift certificate for Christmas. A few weeks after Christmas we went to our local Barnes and Noble store. I was amazed at how few people there were there. There was only one clerk and she wasn't busy. A few years back, you had to stand in line for ten minutes to check out.
My wife didn't find anything she wanted so will order a few craft books online to use up the certificate. I doubt that anyone will miss B&N when it is gone.
My wife didn't find anything she wanted so will order a few craft books online to use up the certificate. I doubt that anyone will miss B&N when it is gone.
1 - 20 of 62 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Kindle Forum
A forum community dedicated to Amazon Kindle owners, authors, and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about publishing, audio, troubleshooting, models, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Recommended Communities
