Nook Sales Down 20%, But More Are Coming

The bad news for the Nook continues to flow, but Barnes & Noble doesn’t seem to care. According to the company, the Nook’s revenue declined more than 20% to $153 million, and overall the company reported a net loss of $87 million. The bookseller said that the Nook revenue loses were due to “lower unit selling volume” as well as dwindling ebook sales. But the company is going to bulk up its line regardless, and stick with the Nook for the time being; their goal is to release one new Nook device by the holiday season. Whether it’s enough to bring the widely-regarded failure of a product back into relevancy will be important to watch.  

Barnes and Noble Posts Big Nook Loss

During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, Barnes and Noble as a company suffered a net loss of $118.6 million, which is more than double what it lost in 2012. The Nook business, however, took an especially big hit, to the tune of $56 million this year alone, representing a 34% drop from Q4 2012. Device sales have dropped dramatically and fell in the fourth quarter by a whopping 8.9%. The future for the Nook – and the Barnes and Noble company as a player in the book sphere – is surely in doubt. 

Barnes and Noble to Close 1/3 of Stores

Recognizing competition from digital competitors Amazon and Apple, bookseller Barnes & Noble has announced it will close 1/3 of its stores at a rate of 20 stores a year for the next decade.  This hardly comes as a surprise as tablets and e-readers like the Apple iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire become increasingly ubiquitous, and digital continues to encroach on print markets.  The strategy is expected to increase demand for Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-readers, which saw shrinking sales last quarter.

Ereaders On The Decline

If you haven’t heard the mention of ereaders in a few weeks, it’s for good reason. The growth of tablets appears to be phasing out the single-task device according to a recent report from isuppli. The study  predicts sales to decline 36% by year-end with just 7 million units on the market in 2016. The optimal reading display and superior battery life seem to be the two features keeping ereaders afloat.