The New York Post has a hot “exclusive” business story: It turns out book sales have boomed during the pandemic, and Barnes & Noble is “cashing in.” Of course the story doesn’t really say what it thinks it says. Here’s what we find notable: – Owner Elliott Advisors hopes to unload the chain within another two years. “A source familiar with the matter says Elliott is about halfway through its plan that would eventually spin the bookseller back onto the public markets — or sell it to another private buyer.” – Barnes & Noble’s store count has declined, from 627 […]
Bookstores
Bookselling: Green Apple Books to Open in SFO
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a 12-year lease for a Green Apple Books outlet in the Harvey Milk terminal at San Francisco International Airport. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the store is slated to open in March 2024, with construction beginning in October 2023. Hudson “will be the majority owner and responsible for rent and paying staff.” “The way the deal is structured, with Hudson as our partner, Green Apple doesn’t have to make much of an investment upfront,” Green Apple co-owner Pete Mulvihill said. “We could have gone this alone. We felt this was the safest way […]
Winter Institute Will Require Vaccination, Limit Visitors
The American Booksellers Association is planning on convening a live Winter Institute 17 (aka Wi2022) in Cincinnati, from February 13 to February 16, and will open to registration on September 20. Vaccination will be required for attendance, though the organization is still determining “an appropriate screening method.” Along with that policy, “Due to COVID-related issues such as government mandates and social distancing, ABA has made the difficult decision to limit our attendance to North American attendees.” Attendees will need to pay careful attention to hotel and travel cancellation policies; as for the ABA’s attendance fees, refunds “will only be offered […]
Daunt and Entrekin Talk Nonfiction Trends
On the Read Smart podcast from the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction, Barnes & Noble ceo James Daunt and Grove Atlantic ceo and publisher Morgan Entrekin discussed how the last 18 months affected their businesses, selling books across the political divide, and how young adults enjoy physical books. As always, Daunt was positive about how B&N has fared during the pandemic, noting that sales went up greatly after the store closures in the first months of lockdowns. Entrekin said that Grove Atlantic’s decision to not move most of their books out of the spring and summer in 2020 “cut both […]
Bookselling: MIT Press Bookstore to Reopen In New Space
Closed since spring 2020, the MIT Press Bookstore will reopen on Tuesday, September 7, at a new location at 314 Main Street in Cambridge, MA. It shares a building with the MIT Museum, a cafe, and various other tenants, as part of the “reimagined MIT Kendall Gateway.” The store sells “an extensive section of academic and general interest titles by other publishers in related fields” alongside materials from the press. Manager of the MIT Press Bookstore Clarissa Murphy says in the announcement, “This move has been many years in planning, and we are thrilled to finally be opening our doors […]
Bookselling: Two New Barnes & Noble Locations
Barnes & Noble opens two new stores on Wednesday, both relatively compact in size. The splashier launch is in Raleigh, NC, for the previously-announced 10,400-square-foot store in the Village District. Author Delia Owens will officially cut the ribbon to open the store and meet fans. The release praises the “leadership of manager Jen Curtis, a 22-year veteran of Barnes & Noble stores in the Carolinas” and says “the store is the first to be opened by Barnes & Noble in the Raleigh area in 18 years.” As we have observed in the past, the company continues its odd belief that […]