Barnes & Noble Nook Revenues Down 26%

By Jason Boog 

Barnes & Noble reported that Nook segment revenues totaled $316 million for the fiscal third quarter, sinking 26 percent compared to the same period last year. The company blamed “lower device unit volume” for the sagging sales, and promised to “significantly reduce NOOK’s expenses.”

At the same time, retail revenues at Barnes & Noble bookstores and the online business, decreased 10.3 percent during the quarter–counting revenues of $1.5 billion. The company said a “decline in comparable store sales, store closures and lower online sales” had produced these reduced figures.

Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch had this comment in the release: “In terms of the NOOK Media business, we’ve taken significant actions to begin to right size our cost structure in the NOOK segment, while also taking a large markdown on NOOK devices in order to enhance our ability to achieve our estimated sales plans in subsequent quarters … NOOK Media has been financing itself since October of 2012 due to the strong investment partners we’ve been able to attract in Microsoft and Pearson. Coming off the holiday shortfall, we’re in the process of making some adjustments to our strategy as we continue to pursue the exciting growth opportunities ahead for us in the consumer and digital education content markets.”