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Image Source: CNN Money
BY JASMINE BAILEY
Barnes and
Noble— the largest bookstore in the nation— has announced its high hopes for the success
of its Nook Tablet have proven to be inaccurate— to say the least.
In a press release
the company admitted a great loss on the sales of its Nook Tablet for the third quarter in
2013— much greater than in 2012 with revenue falling under the projected $3 billion.
The
Verge reported back in 2012 Barnes and Noble’s fourth quarter results showed Nook Tablet
sales fell by 11 percent.
And The New York Times notes— before
Barnes and Noble launched its Nook Tablet, William Lynch, the company’s CEO, had great
expectations for the device. And the future of the bookstore— hinged on going digital.
Last
year he told the newspaper—
“Had we not launched devices and spent the money we
invested in the Nook, investors and analysts would have said, ‘Barnes & Noble is crazy,
and they’re going to go away.’”
So what went wrong? A digital approach would
seem to be the right direction for any company, especially in this day and age.
Aside
from trying to keep up with Apple’s iPad—Lynch claims much of the underperformance is to
blame on the holiday sales.
“Nook device sales got off to a good start over
the Black Friday period, but then fell short of expectations for the balance of holiday…We
are examining the root cause of the December shortfall in sales, and will adjust our strategies
accordingly going forward.”
And as a source familiar with Barnes and Noble’s
strategy told The New York Times— “adjusting strategies” could mean—
“They are
not completely getting out of the hardware business, but they are going to lean a lot
more on the comprehensive digital catalog of content.”
Barnes and Noble announced
it will release its report for third-quarter earnings on February 28. Bloomberg reports—
. “the company’s shares have lost more than half their value in five years, closing
at $13.51 on Feb. 22.”