One of my favorite pastimes is going to Barnes and Noble. Sometimes I go there to buy books and sometimes I go there just to browse. But if numbers like this keep up, pretty soon I may not be going there at all, and neither may you.
The Barnes and Noble financial report is out, as it struggles to compete in the digital reading industry. In this quarter alone, they’ve lost nearly $119 million dollars. If that wasn’t enough, so far in fiscal 2013, (which started in October 2012) they’ve lost 1.3 billion dollars in revenue. From what I’ve been reading, books and e-books like Hunger Games and Fifty?Shades of Grey have kept the company’s head above water. Nook Media, B&N’s answer to Kindle and other e-book devices, are hardly doing better. It reported $108 million dollars in revenue this quarter. That may sound like a lot, but is a third less than this time last year, and nothing compared to other read devices. Some experts say Nooks lack the app support of other devices. They did slash prices and collaborate with Android and Google to improve apps and prices, but was it too much too late?
Well, never say never. At least solutions are being thought of and executed. Programs like Simple Touch are being offered. And B&N are offering other apps and programs that should be?out before the holidays. I really hope these things work. Though I don’t own a Nook, I want them to do well. I read somewhere where all the physical Barnes & Noble locations may be bought out. Goodness, I hope not! Now what am I going to do to replace my Saturday ritual of reading a book and having my cappuccino? But even if it that catastrophe happens, Nook will be the only thing they have to rely on. Can Barnes and Noble survive? Will they?