Barnes & Noble executive plans more store closings

Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

NEW YORK Barnes & Noble (BKS) plans to continue to shrink its store base.

The head of Barnes & Noble's retail group, Mitchell Klipper, said in an interview published Monday in The Wall Street Journal that the company will have 450 to 500 stores in a decade. That's down from about 689 currently.

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Klipper said the chain plans to close about 20 stores a year over the period.

The largest traditional U.S. bookstore has been facing tough competition from online retailers and discounters that sell books and has been focusing on its Nook tablet, e-book reader and e-book business for growth.

A spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble said Klipper's remarks don't mark any change in its store closing plan.

"We have historically closed approximately 15 stores per year for the past 10 years," said spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating. Some closings are due to the fact that stores are unprofitable and others are stores moving to better locations.

Though Barnes & Noble has for the most part stopped opening new stores in the past several years, Keating said New York-based Barnes & Noble opened two new prototype stores in 2012 and plans to test other prototypes in 2013.

"The company's management is fully committed to the retail concept for the long term," Keating said.

In addition to its traditional bookstores, Barnes & Noble operates 674 college bookstores.

Its shares fell 26 cents, or 2 percent, to $12.91 in midday trading. They have traded in a 52-week range of $10.45 to $25.

[komodo55]

Barnes and Noble will go out of business because of its imbecilic business model. I can think of no other business in which you can enter the store, use the products free of charge, for an idefinite period, while you lounge in a comfortable chair. When you're done reading, you toss the book or magazine on the floor and one of their employees puts it away for you. We used to take our kids in there on Saturdays to roll around the floor with a pile of books, as did many other parents. If you tried to have a cup of coffee at the attached Seattle's Best, all of the tables were occupied with students doing their homework...again, not buying anything.

[mandiegracetaylor]

I could not buy "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my Nook - they have got to speed it up - people will go to Kindle and Amazon if they stay in the dark ages - and that store is in the dark ages. Nook will be a joke if they don't ramp it up

[HM8432]

If Barnes & Noble's books weren't so over-priced, maybe they wouldn't have to close as many stores. There's a reason book-lovers flock towards half-priced used book stores and Amazon.com, especially in this tough economy.

[Transatlantique]

Good riddance! I said that about Borders/Waldenbooks, where I was a slave for 10 of my best years with not much in return, and I'll say it about BN. Waldenbooks eventually pushed me out because I was going to "top out" at $8 hourly and they wouldn't be able to pay more. What a lie. They only wanted to get someone new and cheaper. A few of their managers were on severely over inflated ego trips and derived great pleasure in the power plays they embarked upon. I hope they are now begging in the streets.

Both of those companies were never interested in getting the books that people wanted into their hands, but only interested in pushing rubbish to make a profit. This is why I buy online. I can't find the books I want through them for a decent price, so I buy at Amazon.

[emeraldeyes52781]

Have you ever known anyone who works for Amazon??? It's not exactly a picnic. My friends are written up for their rate, underpaid and underappreciated! There is no perfect job, but it sucks to work at Amazon!

[Barry-been-inhalin]

It's the Obama economy.

[Swift29]

Au contraire o ignorant swine. Who begat this economy? Only simpleton dung eaters believe Obama (like a president is to blame vs. Congress ) could "fix" what GOP philosophy, by and large, has been doing for 30 years. Who ran up the most debt in history before this Congress? That's right: W and the GOP. Who blew the fiscal surplus? GOP 106th Congress. Look it up.

106th: GOP both houses, 107th: Senate - split, House - GOP, 108th: GOP both houses, 109th: GOP both houses. Getting any clearer? You can turn off the pap from radio and find FACTS, Shemp.

Who allowed banks to run wild? Both sides. But not Obama.
Remember Ross Perot? That giant sucking sound referred to letting vested interests get whatever they want. With promises of job growth. Any questions?

Who's the NATURAL constituency of Wall Street and the banks?

You want to see more legislation favoring the rich and big business you just keep pushing to let these crooks back in control. They're going to win the White House next anyway so we're all F*cked, it's just a question of time. It ain't the dems. You watch how jerrymandering, election shenanigans and political fraud win the day. It's coming. More disenfranchisement. Courtesy of your jagoff GOP and their smoke and mirrors.

[jgg000010]

ther bush recession was declared "over" in the summer of '09.
Remember the "Summer of Recovery"??? Hate to break it to you but this economy - after over 4 years - is all obama's. And so is the mess in the middle east.

[skeezix06]

The sign of a dying company is closing stores.

[hypnotoad72]

I'm not going to renew my card when it comes time to renew.

Not because of what they said about Neil Gaiman, but because their general business practices I don't agree with. The company can say they're committed, but will likely keep saying the same thing each time they close more stores.

It's a game, to them. Most people in this country are grown-ups now.