We are accustomed to mediocre holiday sales reports from Barnes & Noble, since the last time the bookseller recorded an actual gain in core, same-store holiday book sales was the 2011 season. But even by that low bar, BN outdid themselves in holiday disappointment this time around: Same-store sales for the nine-week holiday period decreased 9.1 percent — as online sales gained “approximately 2 percent.” The company didn’t try to pretend this was ok: “We were not pleased with our results,” ceo Len Riggio says in the release, and he really can’t blame this on the fired Ron Boire. Riggio […]
Booksellers
Barnes & Noble Education Reduces EBITDA and Comp Guidance, Stock Falls Sharply
Barnes & Noble Education reported second quarter sales on Tuesday morning, with persistent same-store sales weakness carrying over from the first quarter. The company blamed the “lower textbook and general merchandise sales” on “lower enrollments and a softer retail environment.” As a result, full-year expectations for EBITDA growth have been reduced to “mid-single digits” (from a prediction of a 12 percent increase a quarter ago) and same-store sales are now expected to decline 2 percent to 3 percent (previously put at flat to down 2 percent). After rising with the broader market since early November, BNED shares were down over 16 percent […]
“Sluggish Sales” Lower Barnes & Noble Revenues 4 Percent
Barnes & Noble more or less met analysts’ low expectations for their fiscal second quarter ending, October 29: Sales fell 4 percent, to $858.5 million, with same store sales down 3.2 percent “on lower store traffic,” even with the help of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Total Nook sales — including content and devices, was down a mere $35 million for the quarter. Consolidated second quarter EBITDA improved to $0.7 million, but the company still recorded a net loss of $20.4 million, or $0.29 per share (compared to a loss of $27.2 million, or $0.36 per share a year ago). With the Dow Jones industrials […]
Book Sales Improve in Indigo’s Second Quarter
Canadian “book, gift and specialty toy retailer” Indigo reported results for their fiscal second quarter, ending September 26. Sales rose 5.4 percent, or $11.2 million, to $216.9 million (CA) for the quarter, driven by “continued double digit growth in the general merchandise business, and growth in the core book business enhanced by the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which balanced the downward sales slide of adult coloring books. Total book sales were up 5.1 percent (3.8 percent in superstores and 4.9 percent in small format stores) on a same-store basis, though they operated one less superstore and two fewer small-format stores than […]
Amazon’s Stock Falls on Slimmer Than Expected Profits; Media Sales Now Even with Apple
Amazon and Google both reported third quarter sales after the close of the market on Thursday. Amazon was expected to exceed analysts’ expectations (yes, that’s as crazy as it sounds) but they only fulfilled that halfway: Indeed sales of $32.7 billion were about $130 million ahead of those estimates, rising 29 percent overall, but profits returned to disappointing, with net income of $252 million or 52 cents a share — down from a quarter ago, and down from analysts’ target of 85 cents a share. Those profits were additionally disappointing when you consider that the company’s profit engine — the AWS web services […]
Book Sales Continue Modest Decline at WH Smith, As Profits Improve
UK-based WH Smith reported annual results through August 31, declaring what passes for “another good performance” at their High Street stores — which means trading profit there grow £3 million to £62 million, even as sales continued to ebb. Total sales in the division fell 3 percent and same-store sales declined 2 percent, even with the launch of the Zoella Book Club and the popularity of “color therapy” books, which “were a key driver of sales.” But book sales still feel 2 percent on a same-store-basis, with stationery sales rising and a growing initiative to install actual Post Offices inside the stores. They note that “kids book sales […]