Dive Brief:
- Books Inc. filed a motion in U.S. bankruptcy court to approve the sale of its assets to an affiliate of Barnes & Noble for $3.25 million, per a Wednesday press release shared with Retail Dive.
- Books Inc. will keep its independent branding if the deal is approved and continue to operate nine stores (down from the 11 locations it previously operated). The company expects a court ruling on the proposed sale this fall.
- Loyalty points from Books Inc. are expected to be transferred to Barnes & Noble and gift cards will continue to be honored following the acquisition.
Dive Insight:
The proposed acquisition of Books Inc. will help maintain the company’s 174-year-old identity.
“This agreement will ensure that Books Inc.’s legacy will continue for the foreseeable future,” Books Inc. CEO Andy Perham said in a statement. “With Barnes & Noble’s deep resources and world-class support, Books Inc. will be able to quickly modernize its operations so we can focus on what we do best: connecting people with books, ideas and each other.”
Books Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January citing revenue losses exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift in consumer shopping behaviors. The retailer will now be part of one of the national companies that once disrupted the indie bookstore industry. In its January filings, Books Inc. called out the "explosion of national bookstore chains" on the West Coast as the reasoning for its first bankruptcy in 1995. In recent years, more independent booksellers who once viewed Barnes & Noble as a threat to their businesses now see it as a safety net in an industry rattled by Amazon, according to 2022 reporting from The New York Times.
For Barnes & Noble, the move to acquire Books Inc. adds to its expansion strategy.
The mass book retailer in 2024 acquired Tattered Cover after its parent company Bended Page filed for bankruptcy the year prior. The Colorado-based bookseller had also cited changing market and consumer conditions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic in its filings.
In addition to purchasing smaller book store chains, Barnes & Noble has been steadily growing its store footprint. The company in April announced plans to open 60 new stores in 2025, building on the 57 it had debuted in 2024 following a decade of stagnation.
Barnes & Noble itself was acquired in 2019 by hedge fund Elliot Management, which also owns the U.K.-based bookstore chain Waterstones.
