As promised, Barnes & Noble released a somewhat more detailed report on holiday sales this morning for the nine-week period ending January 1. The company’s bookstores had their “best [holiday] comparable store sales performance in more than a decade,” up 9.7 percent on a same-store basis and 8.2 percent overall. For December alone, comp sales rose even more, at 12.8 percent. While Nook devices accounted for much of the increase, the company says “physical book sales, especially hardcover books, were better than expected,” and their expanded toys & games department increased sales by 48 percent. Total holiday store sales were […]
Booksellers
Waterstone’s Parent HMV Reports Terrible Holiday Following UK Snow
Snowstorms in the UK dampened holiday sales at many outlets, and the HMV was the first of the big retailers to warn markets. Their Waterstone’s unit did well on a relative basis, with same-store sales for the 10-week holiday period declining 2.1 percent. (As we noted in December, Waterstone’s comps were down 3.2 percent for the first six months of the year, and the chain has been in “turnaround” mode since at least 2005.) HMV stores fared far worse, falling 13.6 percent on a same-store basis, and 11.9 percent overall in the 10-week period. HMV warned markets that it will […]
Nooks Drive Better-than-Expected Holiday Increase at Barnes & Noble Stores
Barnes & Noble issued a brief preliminary report on bookstore sales for the nine-week holiday period, saying that comparable store sales rose 9.7 percent through January 1. Results were driven by the the Nook reading devices, with BN saying they had the largest single day of store sales in the company’s history on December 23. They will report more details on January 6, when we may get a better glimpse of how book sales held up. Most notable about today’s report is that results were ahead of the company’s own forecast at the end of November, when they told analysts […]
After Another Terrible Quarter, Borders Warns of New Liquidity Threat
Borders reported third-quarter results after the close of the market on Thursday, and their report card is as dreadful as many feared. They are losing even more money than before and sales continue to fall at alarming rates. As part of the report, they also warn of another looming liquidity threat. The company is forced again to look for “replacement financing,” following the continuing losses and a low third-party “estimated liquidation value of our inventory” (which is their primary asset, and affects how much they can borrow.) If they can’t find a solution, they warn they could be in violation […]
Waterstone’s Remains Rosy On Neverending “Turnaround” As Comps Still Fall
Waterstone’s parent HMV reported sales for the first half of the fiscal year at the bookselling chain of 219.5 million pounds, down 2.4 percent overall, and declining 3.2 percent on a same-store basis. They had an operating loss of 9.9 million pounds, which is better than the loss of 12.9 million pounds a year go. In the best stiff-upper-lip tradition available, management insists that they are making “good progress on [the] turnaround at Waterstone’s.” At the same time HMV reminds investors that “the outcome of our full financial year will be largely determined by the next four weeks of the […]
The Barnes & Noble Paradox: Nook Sales, and Expenses, Continue to Grow As Book Sales Slide
Barnes & Noble reported second quarter results through the end of October this morning, with lower sales and bigger losses than analysts were expecting, even with promising execution of their growth strategies. While showing sales success in their digital and non-book business lines, the expenses of the company’s transition continue to weigh on their results. For the second time this year they increased their full-year loss projections, now saying that they will range from 75 cents to $1.15 a share, or 50 cents a share more than their last revised forecast in August. That news sent shares down sharply in […]