B&N To Close More Stores

B&N is not planning to keep all its current stores open forever. We have heard of companies such as this closing some of their stores to save costs. That is expected to continue in the future, especially with people relying more on e-books. The company is currently operating 689 retail stores along with a chain of 674 college stores. But as Mitchell Klipper, chief executive of Barnes & Noble’s retail group, has explained:

In 10 years we’ll have 450 to 500 stores

Mr. Klipper suggested that his forecasts assumes that the company will close about 20 stores a year. The goal here is to manage overhead costs and stay competitive in the long run. The NOOK platform has potential but it is going to have a very difficult time staying competitive under current market conditions. It is not clear how B&N moves forward at this point.