Bad News Barnes Barnes & Noble surprised Wall Street by announcing a sharply reduced earnings forecast for the coming year (approximately 30 percent or more below what analysts were expecting) along with same-store sales predictions of “flat to slightly positive for the year,” even with the new Harry Potter book. Margins are under pressure from multiple fronts: Their discounted Member prices are “negatively impacting both sales and gross margins as the unit sales growth has not yet offset the amount of additional discounts. In addition, gross margin will continue to be compressed by the highly competitive bookselling environment.” Nonetheless, CEO […]
