Ahead of reporting their fiscal fourth quarter later this week, Barnes & Noble Education announced that it has separated the roles of board chair and ceo, effective immediately. Lead independent director Vice Admiral John R. Ryan now serves as board chair, with Mike Huseby remaining as ceo. Additionally, Outerbridge Capital Investment’s chief investment officer Rory Wallace has been nominated to join the board at the next annual meeting in September and the investment firm renewed its standstill “cooperation agreement” first struck two years ago, when BNED explored and then abandoned a sale of the company. (Outerbridge currently holds 2 of […]
Bookstores
Booktopia’s Value Has Plunged
It took Australia’s leading online bookseller Booktopia years to pull off a public offering of shares in late 2020 — and in retrospect, it probably never should have done so. Shares have been sinking since last summer, accelerated by their surprise warning of low profits expected for the current year in early May. Since late August 2021, the company’s market cap has evaporated, going from $411 million (AU) down to about $26 million now. The Sydney Morning Herald ran a long “investigation.” While they note that, “In recent weeks, Booktopia has been laying off staff through redundancy rounds” — and […]
ABA Membership Counts Grow Again: “The rise in BIPOC stores is a big change for us”
The ABA releases their latest membership through the AP, per tradition. (The data is usually announced at the organization’s annual meeting — which was postponed this year from May to mid-July.) CEO Allison Hill said the organization has 2,010 members now, operating 2,524 locations, well up from last year’s counts of 1,700 members and 2,100 locations. Hill “attributes some of the rise to owners who delayed renewing their memberships early in 2021, reflecting uncertainty about the pandemic’s impact.” They also tallied “well over 100” new stores that opened within the last year, “dozens of them owned by people from a wider […]
Bookselling: Eso Won Books To Close, Another Barnes & Noble Relocates
Black-owned LA bookstore Eso Won Books will close at the end of the year. Located in Leimert Park Village, the store was founded 33 years ago. Co-owner James Fugate said on The Tavis Smiley Podcast, “We’ve been working at it a long time and at some point, I think people reach that point where that daily grind of coming into the store, even though we’re open a small amount of time, you want to end that.” Elsewhere, Barnes & Noble will relocate its Pikesville, MD location, after 19 years. The new location, set to open in fall, is just across […]
Bookselling: New Ownership For Elliott Bay Book Company
Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle has been sold to Tracy Taylor, the general manager of 32 years, as well as married couple Murf Hall and Joey Burgess, who own bars and businesses in the neighborhood. The sale was finalized on June 1. Former owner Peter Aaron said in a release, “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as steward of this unique and wonderful haven of literature and civility for the past 23 years. ” He called the new owners “ideally suited to ensure that the bookstore will continue to thrive and to maintain the standards […]
Bookselling: Beacon Hill Books and Cafe To Open In Boston
Beacon Hill Books and Cafe, a new 3,000 square foot, four-story bookstore on Charles Street, will open in Boston in August. Owner Melissa Fetter plans to sell “books in a range of topics spread across all of those stories.” Events will be held in the “cafe, courtyard garden, and third floor, where there’s a salon for intimate readings.”