Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
1–10 of 58 posts
Re: Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
#2I was chatting with a B&N store clerk the other week who hinted at this plan. Great to see it become official.
Their new “indie” approach sounds intriguing and akin to what Amazon Books tries to accomplish. In today’s world, the physical store can no longer compete with the web’s infinite selection, but can still offer value in curation and presentation.
Don’t know if B&N will pull it off but wish them the best. I love bookstores and would hate to see them die.
Re: Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
#3I was chatting with a B&N store clerk the other week who hinted at this plan. Great to see it become official. Their new “indie” approach sounds intriguing and akin to what Amazon Books tries to accomplish. In today’s world, the physical store can no longer compete with the web’s infinite selection, but can still offer value in curation and presentation. Don’t know if B&N will pull it off but wish them the best. I lo…
If anyone can pull it off, James Daunt (the new MD) can. He's done exactly the same at Waterstones in the UK and it's made a huge difference: the bookshops have gone from "competent but uninspiring" to places where you genuinely want to spend time. And money.
Re: Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
#4I was chatting with a B&N store clerk the other week who hinted at this plan. Great to see it become official. Their new “indie” approach sounds intriguing and akin to what Amazon Books tries to accomplish. In today’s world, the physical store can no longer compete with the web’s infinite selection, but can still offer value in curation and presentation. Don’t know if B&N will pull it off but wish them the best. I lo…
If anyone can pull it off, James Daunt (the new MD) can. He's done exactly the same at Waterstones in the UK and it's made a huge difference: the bookshops have gone from "competent but uninspiring" to places where you genuinely want to spend time. And money.
I like Daunt, he genuinely seems to like selling books and he's reasonably ruthless about achieving the goals to get a business to health. His approach definitely seemed like a shock to the system for the business and the staff but it's been incredibly successful long term.
Re: Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
#5[deleted]
Re: Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
#6We have one large B&N in town - diverse selection of books and mags, clean, and a sizable quasi-Starbucks cafe with tons of power outlets. I really enjoy it, and frankly compared to our indie bookshops, I prefer it - its volume, sterility, service and anonymity combined with familiarity and an unpretentious attitude. I don't need to see the same homely indie bookmonger making eye contact with me every time I walk in a bookstore with their expectations and shawls. Leave me alone and don't talk to me. :D
I really look forward to their development and wish them nothing but success.
Re: Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
#7The key is curation.
Walk into a book store and look around. From different points in the bookstore count how many titles you can see. Which titles can you see entirely and which can you only see the spine of? Count them.
Now go to Amazon.com and perform the same experience. Count how many titles you can view at any given time. 10?
I buy and read a lot of books. What makes a good bookstore stand out is its selection. I want to be introduced to books that I would otherwise not know existed and frankly even with all of its algorithms Amazon sucks at this. I can walk into any bookstore and within 1 minute my eyes have scanned dozens of books. I take in their titles, size, color, binding, etc. All of this information impacts whether or not I will pick up a book to examine it further.
I enjoy the selection process and I want a bookstore that gives me that. My favorite bookstores have floor to ceiling shelves so that I can cover more ground quickly. There's no way you can reproduce this on a monitor, it's simply impossible.
Re: Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
#8I was chatting with a B&N store clerk the other week who hinted at this plan. Great to see it become official. Their new “indie” approach sounds intriguing and akin to what Amazon Books tries to accomplish. In today’s world, the physical store can no longer compete with the web’s infinite selection, but can still offer value in curation and presentation. Don’t know if B&N will pull it off but wish them the best. I lo…
> In today’s world, the physical store can no longer compete with the web’s infinite selection, but can still offer value in curation and presentation.
Could not agree more. I always feel like I'm taking a risk when ordering an item from Amazon, but never feel that way when shopping at say, Costco. I trust Costco's buyers to curate and vet the quality of a product for me.
Re: Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
#9We have one large B&N in town - diverse selection of books and mags, clean, and a sizable quasi-Starbucks cafe with tons of power outlets. I really enjoy it, and frankly compared to our indie bookshops, I prefer it - its volume, sterility, service and anonymity combined with familiarity and an unpretentious attitude. I don't need to see the same homely indie bookmonger making eye contact with me every time I walk in…
> with their expectations and shawls
This is the most beautiful neutral-yet-poignant description of a bookstore clerk I have ever read. I'm still laughing about it.
Re: Barnes and Noble’s new plan is to act like an indie bookseller
#10I've overhead cafe managers talking about how much of the store's sales are from the cafe. You can't build a 20,000 square feet Starbucks and be competitive.
That really is the draw, though - making B&N a place to hang out. People spend hours there at a time.