In 1873, Barnes and Noble took its first steps into the book business, mainly wholesaling to schools and universities. The company was founded by Charles Montgomery Barnes from Wheaton, Illinois. The corporation’s original name was C.M. Barnes Company. Soon after 1917, William Barnes, Charles’ son, sold his father’s interest in the company. It was then that the company took the title, Barnes and Noble. Since then, Barnes and Noble has became the world’s largest retail seller in the book industry (Long, 2016). Barnes & Noble has traditionally viewed its bookstores as community centers, designing its brick stores to meet the specific needs and tastes of communities where the stores are located. These stores also provide an atmosphere where …show more content…
Technology has given convenience to the general public and lessened the need for paper copies of books. Even though some people prefer the hard text copy of books, most do not. The number of people buying e-book devices has been increasing at a rapid rate. In 2010, it is estimated that 10 million people would have bought an e-book device (Mui, 2009). Amazon has provided different, more popular forms of electronic reading devices, giving them the competitive advantage. The sales reports and comparative income statements provide the obvious conclusion, Barnes and Noble is losing business to …show more content…
With that being said, Barnes and Noble can create ways to compete with its main competitor, Amazon. The most important recommendations include: selling eBooks through its Nook iPad app, creating an improved electronic reading product, and cutting down on losses. No other book retailers sell products through Apple because of the 30% Apple would take from every transaction. Yet, if Barnes and Noble made this deal, they would gain an advantage over Amazon and other competitors. Some people would say that Apple is considered a competitor as well, but this might be the only way to save Barnes and Noble from a most certain ruin. Over the past decade, Amazon has gained a vast advantage in revenue because frankly, they have produced better electronic products. With this being said, B&N did try to increase business by branching out to school and university bookstores. Their organization operates campus bookstores for leading universities, colleges and other types of schools. They work closely with each institution to promote their own unique vision and help them to build a bookstore that adds value to the campus (Hardiman,