October 29, 2024
James Daunt, CEO, Barnes & Noble
Amazon And Covid Could Not Kill This Retailer, And They Tried, James Daunt – CEO Barnes & Noble
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Amazon revolutionized the retail market with its online shopping and shipping, a revolution that caused companies to change drastically or go bankrupt. Even Walmart had to reboot itself to battle the e-commerce giant. Another industry that Amazon took a huge swing at, tied to its original founding purpose, was books, and then with its Kindle and e-books in 2007. Already on its heels, COVID-19 took a swing at retail when people weren’t allowed to visit stores to support the already struggling book industry.
Today’s guest has taken those swings to the chin and is now turning things around and succeeding. Barnes & Noble CEO, James Daunt, joins this episode of The Reboot Chronicles to discuss how he is rebooting the largest retail bookseller in the United States
Barnes and Noble is the perfect reboot story, which has seen the good, the bad, and the atrocious times as it lived through in its storied journey. With declining store numbers for almost 15 years and then lock-downs, the company is back on a growth track, with 600 stores, and 18,000 employees that deliver around $3.5 billion in annual revenue. Follow along as we unpack this active, back to basics, turnaround, and what Barnes & Noble has in store for us next.
The Resurgence Of Physical Bookstores
In the past few years, there has been a surge in both book sales, and the number of physical bookstores. Is it just a trend? Is it the fact that the book industry is shrinking at Amazon? Or the desire for a cozy communal space? When asked, James said it is about “Confidence on the part of the booksellers”. He backs this up by noting that good independent booksellers never had any problem, “even in the glory days of the rise of Amazon and the Kindle.” The difference was that independents were confident that books would always be relevant, and learning that “if you run a really good bookstore, people enjoy coming to it.”
Navigating The Lockdown
When the lockdown took effect, many companies struggled and were put into precarious situations, to say the least. Barnes & Noble was in a lucky position as they were private, and had a backer that was willing to “back the bet that we would reopen one day.” Which was a blessing for them as they were able to keep the lights on and not furlough everyone. This also gave them the perfect opportunity to start their reboot by investing in their stores so that when the bet paid off, customers would come back to an enhanced experience.
Back to Basics Growth Strategies And The Future
If you are looking for some all-encompassing secret to growing a business like how James grew Barnes & Noble, James’ advice is a bit lackluster. Barnes & Noble was a bit of a “chicken and egg going on”. They needed to create a stimulating environment for their employees to grow and create stores people wanted to come to, but they needed those stores to be successful to fund that creation. On top of all of that mess, there needs to be a lot of trust on the part of the “bookselling population that you are going to deliver.” James notes this is not an easy experience, it took Waterstones, another book retailer he is CEO of, ten years to recover when they went bankrupt. Just remember, “Once you’ve got it right, it becomes quite easy. But it takes a decade.”
