Earlier this month, Barnes & Noble, the only big bookseller left in the United States, announced it was going to make progress into becoming a more indie bookseller within the next year.
So, what does this mean?
James Daunt, owner of over 60 bookshops and known for saving the UK’s biggest chain of bookstores, Waterstones, is planning on using his hedge fund to relaunch the store into a more streamline company. His plans include minimizing the CD and DVD sections, and expanding more into the young adult and children’s sections of the stores. Along with this, his plans include completely renovating the stores and making them occupy much less space then they currently do, so they are able to fit into more malls and shopping plazas.
This renovation may cost upwards of $100 million.
“Ultimately it’s going to cost an immense amount,” Daunt says.
If Barnes & Noble collapses, bookshops cease to exist. Bookselling will be entirely dominated by Amazon, and some supermarkets. CEO James Daunt is fighting to avoid that fate – with a little help from the world's most ruthless hedge fund. Our @BW feature: https://t.co/DfcSfevUO1
— Thomas Buckley (@tgbuckley) March 4, 2020
Daunt’s plan is to become a closer competitor to Amazon’s book-selling service, which is currently the largest book retailer in the United States with their huge online inventory. If his plan succeeds, then Barnes & Noble’s retail locations will be saved.
“There aren’t remotely enough independents to maintain our industry. Publishers won’t keep that infrastructure going, it will become a world completely dominated by Amazon, and the traditional bookshop will disappear,” he says. “If we can achieve that goal, the owner will also make a lot of money, so they’ll be happy as well.”
