The industry needs B&N to do better. And it just isn’t.
Catching up with PW's Andrew Albanese
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In 2018, the US book business is a story of conflicting trends — seeing independent booksellers on the rise, and national chain Barnes & Noble bleeding red ink. That dichotomy was underscored this week with the releases of key business data for 2017.
“On the indie bookseller side, the news is upbeat,” reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer. “American Booksellers Association CEO Oren Teicher told attendees [to the annual Children’s Institute in New Orleans] that 2018 is ‘a time of strength and growth for indie bookselling.’ This is the eighth year in a row to see a rise in ABA member stores, Teicher reported. There are now 2,470 ABA member locations, representing 1,835 companies.”
In a sharply contrasting statement accompanying year-end financials, B&N CEO Demos Parneros said that 2018 losses were part of a “long-term strategic turnaround plan,” adding the company expected “immediate improvement in fiscal 2019.”
“Total sales at Barnes & Noble fell 6.0% in the fiscal year ended April 28, 2018 over 2017 and the retailer posted a net loss of $125.5 million last year compared to net income of $22.0 million in fiscal 2017,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “Revenue last year was $3.66 billion, down from $3.89 billion in fiscal 2017.
“As good as the news is from the indie stores, let’s be clear, the indie market is a small slice of publisher revenues. The industry needs B&N to do better. And it just isn’t,” Albanese notes.
Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.
