B&N break-up proposed
Posted: February 25th, 2013, 6:10 pm
[Not specifically about publishing]
For those who haven't heard, Len Riggio, chairman of Barnes and Noble, has proposed to buy out (and take private) the B&N Retail division, which includes the trade bookstores and bn.com web site. That would leave the NOOK Media operation to stand on its own. NOOK Media includes the NOOK and e-book operations, plus the B&N College Bookstores.
Presumably, this would require splitting off the part of bn.com that sells e-books to stay with NOOK Media. That isn't clear, though.
B&N's trade bookstores continue to be profitable, but the profit generally ends up paying for the losses from bn.com and NOOK Media. B&N will be releasing its third-quarter (November, December, January) financial results on Thursday, and has given early warnings that the numbers won't be good, especially for NOOK Media. The New York Times reports rumors that B&N will announce changes to their business, perhaps de-emphasizing the production of NOOK hardware, at the same time. B&N's 3Q13 financial results were originally scheduled to be released last Tuesday, the 19th.
For those who haven't heard, Len Riggio, chairman of Barnes and Noble, has proposed to buy out (and take private) the B&N Retail division, which includes the trade bookstores and bn.com web site. That would leave the NOOK Media operation to stand on its own. NOOK Media includes the NOOK and e-book operations, plus the B&N College Bookstores.
Presumably, this would require splitting off the part of bn.com that sells e-books to stay with NOOK Media. That isn't clear, though.
B&N's trade bookstores continue to be profitable, but the profit generally ends up paying for the losses from bn.com and NOOK Media. B&N will be releasing its third-quarter (November, December, January) financial results on Thursday, and has given early warnings that the numbers won't be good, especially for NOOK Media. The New York Times reports rumors that B&N will announce changes to their business, perhaps de-emphasizing the production of NOOK hardware, at the same time. B&N's 3Q13 financial results were originally scheduled to be released last Tuesday, the 19th.