Wharton marketing professor Barbara Kahn assessed Barnes & Noble’s predicament through the “Kahn Retailing Success Matrix,” an analytical tool she has developed to determine whether a business has the fundamentals of what it takes to be successful.
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“They were the last man standing in a sense in the traditional brick-and-mortar space, but they just haven’t figured out how to be become relevant. Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia University Graduate School of Business, also viewed the closure of the chain as an inevitability. At this point, they haven’t found that hook to save the business nor have they found the vision or leadership to give people any confidence in it.” “They’ve tried lots of different things from devices to experiences to broadening the merchandise. “It’s pretty grim,” said Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader. Barnes & Noble leadership has talked of a “strategic turnaround plan,” but that hasn’t inspired much hope. In its March 2018 earnings statement, the company posted a 5.3% revenue decline to $1.2 billion and a loss of $63.5 million. However, all indications are that Barnes & Noble faces an uphill road ahead. “You have to find ways to reach out to, and it is about being omni-channel - it has to be a seamless experience.” –Thomas Robertson “Also, if you’re going to reach Gen Z or Gen X, it is all about mobile.” “You have to find ways to reach out to, and it is about being omni-channel - it has to be a seamless experience,” he said. Baker Retailing Center, identified a few important factors that Barnes & Noble or any other retailer could consider. Wharton marketing professor Thomas Robertson, who is also director of the school’s Jay H. In the digital space, meanwhile, Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader has lost badly to Amazon’s Kindle. By consequence, Barnes & Noble has been unable to cash in on a revival in the fortunes of physical bookstores and yielded ground to smaller local shops that have been able to forge deep connections with their customers. They note that the 633-store chain is incurring losses because it has failed to make good use of its stores to endear itself to book lovers. While a recent New York Times op-ed argued that lax government policy toward giant corporations has allowed Amazon to take over the book business and made it impossible for Barnes & Noble to compete, experts from Wharton and elsewhere say there are other trends at play. But now the big box book chain is considered a dinosaur, struggling to survive in a rapidly changing retail landscape.īut if the company collapses (as its chief rival, Borders, did in 2011) who is to blame? Barnes & Noble once played the role of disruptor, leading to the demise of many an independent bookseller.