Barnes & Nobles was one of the most important bookstore chains in the USA. But like many other booksellers, business was going from bad to worse for the company. Amazon made competition and Barnes & Noble management made many mistakes. In the summer of 2019, the retail chain made a loss and had to close many branches. Then a new CEO took over the company. And today business is booming again.
Store sales have increased and the company has opened 16 new bookstores by 2022, doubling that number by 2023. In some cases, new branches have reopened in the very same places where there had been years before. How was that possible?
It’s an amazing turnaround story told in the article I’m recommending today. New CEO James Daunt introduced a series of measures to boost sales. For example, he refused to discount books, refused advertising money from publishers, and gave more power and authority to local businesses. It is precisely the last point that was crucial.
The new CEO wondered what his customers are looking for when they enter a store. The answer was simple: good books. Based on this, he reorganized the business and above all gave his employees more freedom. They should recommend and sell what they thought was good.
The article summarizes the recipe for success as follows:
This is James Daunt’s super power: He loves books.