After 20 years at the location, Barnes & Noble will relocate its Court Street bookstore in Brooklyn, NY to a former Barney’s location at 194 Atlantic Avenue. The bookseller’s lease on the current space expires at the end of the year, and the company “is ensuring a timely transition from Court Street to its new store.”
Bookstores
Bookselling: B&N to Replace Two Amazon Books Stores
Barnes & Noble will fill two small footprint former Amazon Books locations near Boston, after Amazon decided to close its physical retailers this year. B&N outlets will open in Legacy Place mall in Dedham, MA on November 18 and MarketStreet mall in Lynnfield, MA later in November. The company has touted a plan to open 16 new bookstores in 2022, though many of those have been smaller, replacement stores in areas where older stores were closed. They say they have “a further 30 new stores in active planning for 2023.” “A few years back it would have been unthinkable for […]
France Imposes Minimum Shipping Fee for Book Orders
The French government has set a minimum fee of €3 for online book orders of less than €35, Reuters reports. France has submitted the proposal to the EU and the fee will take effect six months after it is approved. In December of last year the government passed a law requiring a minimum shipping rate — aimed to level the playing field between independent retailers and Amazon, which offers shipping as low as one cent — but hadn’t determined what the rate would be.
Bookselling: B&N in Bellvue, WA
Barnes & Noble will open a new store at the Crossroads Shopping Center in Bellvue, WA on September 28, while closing their store at 106 Ave NE downtown. The old store will be razed to make way for a “three-tower, mixed use redevelopment.”
People: Indigo Promotes Ruis to CEO
Indigo Books president Peter Ruis, who joined the company in early 2021, has been promoted to CEO and joins the company’s board as well. Controlling owner Heather Reisman relinquishes the leadership role and takes the position of executive chair, where she will “continue to drive Indigo’s vision and growth strategy while also remaining deeply involved in the business.” Chief customer and digital officer Andrea Limbardi moves up to president. (Limbardi has been with the company for over 20 years.) The company notes, “The Board and its Human Resources, Compensation and Governance Committee have been involved in the entire succession planning […]
Bookselling: Uncle Hugo’s, Butcher Cabin Books
Minneapolis science fiction bookstore Uncle Hugo’s has finally reopened in a new location after being burned in 2020 in the unrest that followed George Floyd’s murder. Owner Don Blyly said he lost 200,000 books in the fire, worth more than $1 million and that insurance money and selling books online helped him reopen. The new location is across the street from Moon Palace Books. A new horror bookstore, Butcher Cabin Books, owned by author J. L. Kiefer, will open in Louisville, KY this fall.