How Barnes & Noble rose from the dead (and what entrepreneurs can learn)

The bookstore chain that lost 80% of its stock value and closed 150 stores — then went private and started opening 30 new locations a year.

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By The Numbers

700

stores at peak

$1.4B

burned on failed Nook

new stores opening annually

What They Nailed Early

Pioneered the book superstore model with massive selection, café culture, and pricing power over publishers. Hit 30% market share by the early 2000s. Built the first mainstream destination where middle America could browse thousands of titles in one place.

What Changed

Amazon crushed them online, capturing 50% of book sales by 2019. The company burned $1.4B trying to compete with Kindle through the Nook. Four CEOs in 10 years whipsawed strategy — stores filled with toys and gift cards instead of books. By 2019, losing $600M annually.

Where it Landed

Private equity firm Elliott bought the chain in 2019 for $660M. New CEO James Daunt (who'd turned around UK chain Waterstones) decentralized operations, gave store managers autonomy, and returned focus to books. Now opening 30 stores annually despite shrinking book market.

The Principles

Hire someone who's done it before. Daunt had already turned around Waterstones using the same playbook — proven athlete beats first-timer every time.

Decentralize when corporate uniformity kills the soul. Store managers became entrepreneurs, curating local selections and events. That human curation became the moat Amazon can't replicate.

Don't chase greener grass when your core is broken. CEOs added toys, cards, and gadgets while the book business rotted. Daunt stripped it all out and did books exceptionally well.

Builder's Takeaway

If you're turning around a struggling retail brand:

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Strip out everything that isn't your core — complexity kills customer experience

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Give local managers real autonomy to reflect their community, not corporate mandates

•

Watch for PR campaigns with universal talking points — someone's setting up an exit

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