Dive Brief:
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Excluding sales of its Nook reader, Barnes & Noble’s Q4 same-store sales rose 1.7%, and plans to close just 13 rather than the previously planned 20 stores, the company said Tuesday.
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Meanwhile, though, Nook sales fell 50.6% to $77.5 million in the quarter, the retailer said.
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Last month the bookseller said it would be spinning off its education business, and Monday announced it would acquire study-note sharing company Flashnotes.
Dive Insight:
Like many local booksellers across the country, Barnes & Noble is seeing healthy sales of physical books. In that environment its pivot from spinning off its education business, rather than its Nook business as originally planned, makes some sense.
Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble CEO Michael Huseby told investors that the company hasn’t given up on its struggling Nook.
“Our Nook team continues to seek opportunities to stabilize, and potentially reverse, the decline in content sales in what continue to be a challenging environment,” Huseby said on a conference call with analysts. “We remain committed to supporting the Nook product, which remains an integral part of our future because it is important to our customers.”
