bookstores

Hamilton Nolan · 12/04/15 03:05PM

Barnes and Noble plans to save itself from inevitable death by “expanding its offerings of toys, games, gadgets and other gifts and reshaping the nation’s largest bookstore chain into a ‘lifestyle brand.’” Eh. Gawker readers once suggested “Turn them into bars,” which seems more likely to succeed.

Anyone Got Any Good Ideas for Barnes & Noble?

Hamilton Nolan · 07/10/13 10:48AM

William Lynch, the CEO of Barnes & Noble, resigned this week after less than two years on the job, having failed to turn around the earnings of the Last Remaining Book Store by selling color tablets. So, uh... anybody have any other ideas? For making money?

We've Passed Peak Barnes & Noble

Hamilton Nolan · 01/28/13 10:41AM

The national book store chain Borders folded in 2011, leaving Barnes & Noble as the undisputed king of Big Huge Chain Bookstores. In that specific industry, B&N has had no competition for the past year and a half. Yet they are preparing to downsize anyhow. The Big Huge Chain Bookstore golden era has passed.

Is Barnes & Noble in Trouble?

Hamilton Nolan · 12/02/11 09:00AM

Borders, America's second biggest book store chain, died this summer, its red-trimmed outlets sinking inexorably into a savage sea of red ink. (Beat that lede, Wall Street Journal!) For Barnes & Noble, the most popular book chain, this could be interpreted as good news: its biggest competitor was gone. Or, bad news: book stores are a dying industry.

Book Store Owners Are Onto You, Cheapskates

Hamilton Nolan · 06/22/11 09:38AM

You think the owner of that book store doesn't know what you're doing? Oh, they know exactly what you're doing. You say you "love" books? You say you enjoy perusing the soothing aisles of a book store, so lovingly curated by a book store owner who spends his or her life ensuring that the very latest and most interesting book selections are there, presented for you in the most interesting possible way? You like that a lot? Yeah. So you can go home and order that shit online. Fuckers.

The Borders Aftermath: Who Falls Next?

Hamilton Nolan · 02/17/11 12:54PM

Borders filed its long-expected bankruptcy yesterday. Hundreds of its stores will be closing in the next few weeks. Besides Borders employees, two other groups are worried: book publishers, and mall owners.

Borders Filing for Bankruptcy

Hamilton Nolan · 02/11/11 03:45PM

Faltering book chain Borders, which has been on a financial death watch for weeks, will file for bankruptcy next week, after failing to get a lifesaving loan. "Borders initially plans to close about 200 of its 674 stores." Initially. [WSJ]

Borders Gets a Loan For Some Reason

Hamilton Nolan · 01/28/11 09:27AM

When we last checked in with dinosaurlike "book store" Borders, it was desperately seeking a loan to stave off bankruptcy. Well, they got their $550 million loan! But there's a fair chance they'll still go bankrupt. Showing good effort! [Dealbook]

Borders Death Watch

Hamilton Nolan · 01/04/11 10:14AM

Just last month, the book chain Borders was being touted as a possible buyer of Barnes & Noble. Today, Borders itself is struggling to survive. How bad is it? Let's roll the most recent low-lights.

Famous Bookstore Run By Jerk

Hamilton Nolan · 05/02/08 12:25PM

The Strand, the humongous New York bookstore by Union Square that is like one of the biggest used book stores ever of all time, has always attracted lots of young workers who take the low pay in exchange for the cool factor of working at the place, and the chance to be around books all day. One negative: the store is run by a despised woman named Nancy Bass Wyden (trivia: she's married to Oregon Senator Ron Wyden). I've known several people who worked at The Strand, and they universally agree on her tyranny. Now, the New York Press has actually done some investigative work on the claims, and it's found evidence for allegations of racial discrimination, callous disregard for pregnant women, and—most terrifyingly—"fungus from rats."