Barnes & Noble Posts Deep Loss Because Of Big Sales At Borders

NEW YORK (Phil Wahba) - Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N), the largest U.S. bookstore chain, reported a deeper quarterly loss on Tuesday as sales came under pressure from the going-out-of-business sales of bankrupt rival Borders Group Inc, and shares fell more than 4 percent.

Barnes & Noble reported a loss of $59.4 million, or $1.04 per share, for the fiscal fourth quarter ended April 30, nearly double the $32 million, or $0.58 a share, loss a year earlier.

Barnes & Noble said sales at its namesake superstores open at least 15 months fell 2.9 percent during the quarter, hurt by the liquidation of 200 bookstores by Borders (BGPIQ.PK) during the quarter.

Online sales, helped by its popular Nook e-reader, rose 78 percent, while same-store sales at its College bookstore chain rose 3.5 percent. Overall third-quarter sales were up 4 percent to $1.37 billion.

(Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Author Raymoni Love]

07:39 PM on 06/28/2011

Raymoni Love latest book should help augment sales at amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. His latest Book, WHEN A BLACK WOMAN CRIES, SHOULD BE A HIT!

[BlackJAC]

09:07 AM on 06/22/2011

Considering the massive discounts those closing Borders branches were offering on the remaining inventory?

[raven119]

07:44 AM on 06/22/2011

"... reported a deeper quarterly loss ...Overall third-quarter sales were up 4 percent to $1.37 billion."

So, sales were up 4 percent, but the loss was greater for the quarter? Only in America....

[JBS]

12:17 PM on 06/22/2011

Creative accounting a' la Enron would be my guess.

[olddognewtrick]

11:48 PM on 06/21/2011

not for long...

[Rhancheck]

10:01 PM on 06/21/2011

Wonder how much of the losses was actually caused by Amazon rather than sales at the competition?

[amd02148]

01:41 AM on 06/23/2011

Fanned/faved Rhancheck, I have been buying to from Amazon for years. You can get any title and for about 30% less than B&N and Borders.

[amd02148]

01:42 AM on 06/23/2011

And with the Amazon kindle, B&N wonders why their sales are down?

[Lleah]

07:28 PM on 06/21/2011

I knew Borders was going out way before they did simply because they were so poorly stocked. The last 10 trips to Borders I made resulted in them not having the book I was looking for....and off to Barnes and noble I would go. I abslutely love B&N and feel so guilty about the fact that I buy everything I read now from Amazon. I read sooo many books....and Amazon makes it so much more easy and cost effective. I am going to try to visit B&N more often though.....can't stand the thought of losing their beautiful stores.

[s h1]

06:22 PM on 06/21/2011

In 1999 every shopping trip included a stop at Borders to browse. That fall I was in the store with a friend who recommended three children's books that were 1-2-3 on the bestsellers list. I loved the first three Harry Potter books so much that I pre-ordered HP-4. The book was released on Saturday, the day I returned from vacation. I went to Borders first thing the next morning. The store clerk, with a too bad-so sad smirk informed me that HP books must be picked up on the day they came in or they would be sold to whoever asked for them. He did offer to re-order. But if I couldn't make it to the store the day they called, I still wouldn't have my book. I decided to order from Amazon.

HP-4 was a turning point for me. Before that, I bought more books at Borders or B&N than at Amazon. Afterwards, it was the opposite. Amazon won me over. Surprisingly, the sale of one $20 book changed a frequent, loyal customer of almost 25 years to an occasional one. I don't want to see brick and mortar stores disappear. But 11 years later, I can still see the look on the face of the clerk when he told me that they sold my book to someone else.

[casskiru]

01:18 PM on 06/22/2011

Oh come on, "the look on the face of the clerk when he told me that they sold my book to someone else" was THAT traumatic for you? 11 years later?

Oh how the world cries for you and your loss.

Grow some skin.

That is just too ridiculous.

[Jennifer Hagan]

04:13 PM on 06/21/2011

Borders has crap books most of the time. I'll stick with Barnes and Noble, thanks

[hypnotoad72]

03:40 PM on 06/21/2011

Hey, competition is good - right?  B&N, work harder, cut worker wages, demand more taxpayer-funded subsidy!

Declare bankruptcy - that'll help too.  After all, Borders did that...

It's funny (not really), how small bookstores got torn apart by these two big brand names...  the small businesses were just told to "innovate or perish"...  (When, here in real life land, price wars instigated by these companies asphyxiated the competition.  As did number of locations of the big box stores, combined with "brand recognition".  And enabling "perceived acceptability" to make the customers feel all warm and cozy...)

And now these two big box names would rather sling "zoo refuse" at each other, especially when amazon.com could easily tear them apart as well.

[kkmousse]

06:36 PM on 06/21/2011

Gee I never thought of them in terms of Big Box store. But you are right. There used to be book stores all over. now there are just a few still left.
Do you think this will happen to Home Depot and Walmart too?

[casskiru]

01:24 PM on 06/22/2011

Home depot and walmart?

Not likely.

Try buying a big grill over the internet and having it shipped to you, or a refrigerator,
or a bunch of lumber, among other things.

Walmart buys in such bulk (it takes money to make money) that considering the kind of prices they are able to offer they are also just fine for the foreseeable future.

Whether that is a good or bad thing I won't get into.

Really?

You never considered B&N and/or Borders as "big box stores?"

Well, that is strange and surprising. You certainly should have, as everyone else did.

[JusticeontheRocks]

03:09 PM on 06/21/2011

In five years you won't find a single Barnes and Noble open and selling books. They'll have kiosks that sell readers, tablets and software.

[philko]

05:45 PM on 06/21/2011

Never underestimate the amount of coffee their in-store cafes sell. Barnes & Noble will definitely lose some stores, but I think they will cling to large brick-n-mortar storefronts even while selling most of their product electronically. It's the way they'll differentiate themselves from Amazon.

[Kisam061968]

02:59 PM on 06/21/2011

No surprise here. B&N is taking a temporary hit because Borders is liquidating its stock...and then where do you think people will go once those Borders stores actually close? Some may go to Amazon, but never underestimate the segment of the market that likes to go into a physical store, buy a coffee, read books and magazines for hours, spill coffee all over them, stash them in some corner of the store, leave their empty coffee cup on a shelf and leave.

[plzchuteme]

03:31 PM on 06/21/2011

Are these the same people who go to Barnes and Noble to talk on their cell phone because it is quieter there and so easier for them to hear? It's like their own personal giant phone booth, only with comfy chairs and magazines to thumb through.

[Lleah]

07:31 PM on 06/21/2011

.....or....irritatingly SIT on the floor in among the shelves so that no one else can browse....bleggghhht.

[allejandro]

04:05 PM on 06/21/2011

And remember, they'll order a small coffee, nurse it four two or three hours, while reading a half dozen magazines that they're too cheap to subscribe to, then leave after spilling the remainder of their coffee on at least one of those magazines.

[Sundialsvc4]

02:38 PM on 06/21/2011

It's only a matter of time before no one is left in the retail sector except ... Amazon.

The world's most explicit Internet Monopoly.

Why does this happen? Just walk into any store and watch. People look at books. Maybe they sit down and look at 'em closer.

Then, they pull out their phones and take a close-up picture of the ISBN, and put the book back onto the shelf. Or maybe they turn to their computer, right there in the store, and start typing a few minutes before putting the book back onto the shelf.

[OutAtFirst]

02:23 PM on 06/21/2011

The irony is great. After years of trammeling mom and pop bookstores, the only survivors will be mom and pop bookstores.

[viking1969]

03:34 PM on 06/21/2011

That would be good.

[hypnotoad72]

03:44 PM on 06/21/2011

People find it more convenient to, in their isolated living rooms, order something from amazon and have it shipped.

Once oil prices skyrocket, so do shipping costs and, theoretically, one day, people will WANT local shops again to walk or bike to.

[cricket]

06:48 PM on 06/21/2011

everything in this world is a cycle hypno.

[amd02148]

01:50 AM on 06/23/2011

hyponotoad that's what I have been doing for years. I got an Amaozon account and I sit, view the synopsis of whatever book I'm interested in, check out the reviews and order my books.

[GlassMask]

01:40 PM on 06/21/2011

My wife loves her Nook, and picks up free and cheap books weekly, as well as the occasional full-price (but still cheaper than paper) novel. I think B&N should have merged the words "fake" and "book" to call it the "Fook." The tagline could have been "Don't just read it... Fook it!"

Anyway, I read mostly magazines, non-fiction and art books these days, so I still like the paper thing, but I can see a day when I switch to on-screen reading, and it's probably coming soon. Sorry, bookstores; it was fun working for you, and shopping with you, but online shopping is the only way I can find the obscure stuff I want to read.

[nnyl]

01:53 PM on 06/21/2011

I prefer roaming the stacks of the used/rare book stores, but admittedly did get a little carried away at the Borders closing sales. An e-reader might be okay, but I don't know that I'd like falling asleep with one. Plus they lack the smell of a newly printed book.

[GlassMask]

02:35 PM on 06/21/2011

I understand. My wife and spent hours in big city bookstores, and every small town had a little used shop that could yield treasures. But how cool is it that online shopping actually allows you to find what you want right now, rather than 3 years from now when a tattered copy appears somewhere? I can get European and Asian books as well. I can give up that little thrill of finding a long-sought rarity in exchange for everything being a click away.

[plzchuteme]

03:33 PM on 06/21/2011

Or the familiar "take me back to my youth," musty smell of an old edition from my grandmother's book shelf.

[MSchlagel]

09:44 PM on 06/21/2011

I get so tired of sighted people who have the gift of being able to read physical books making cracks about ereaders. Have you ever tried to find really good books in Braille? How about the feeling of knowing friends who can get the latest book and you have to wait until someone decides to make a large print version than will only weight 2-3 pounds more than the original. The medium is different: print vs. electronic. The content, style, character, narrative, etc. remains the same. If I didn't have an ereader that can read to me, I would be lost. For me, it isn’t “fake.” It’s my lifeline.

[GlassMask]

09:02 AM on 06/22/2011

My boss bought his father an iPad, not because his dad loves technology (he doesn't) but to allow him to read the local newspaper in a larger font. I wasn't completely dissing print books; my house is filled with them. And I wasn't dissing eReaders; my wife loves hers, and I said I'd probably have one soon as well. My eyesight is declining too. I made the Nook/Fook joke because of the first word in my micro-bio; I'm a comedian, and I thought it was funny.

If you like audiobooks, check out LibriVox.org, where there are thousands for free! I recorded a few myself...

[yakmeat]

12:24 PM on 06/21/2011

Perhaps this is the corporate version of when your neighbor's house goes into foreclosure and your house loses value. (Minus the golden parachutes, of course...)