Barnes and Noble has been making a comeback thanks to decisions made by its CEO James Daunt, and while they were definitely on the brink of failure, we are excited to see what the future holds for the bookseller. They may be the only thing standing between small, independent bookstores and the mega-giant that is Amazon.
Recently, James Daunt was on PBS News Hour where he talked about the Barnes and Noble comeback. And while he had plenty of business insight to share, we were struck by his comments about how they offer a better book than Amazon.
Specifically, Daunt shared, "You will have an experience, and when you walk out of the store with [a book] in your bag it will lift you. It’s the same book, but I promise you it’s a better book, and the reading of it will be more pleasurable because you bought it in a bookstore."
According to Geekwire, he also pointed out that he believes that Amazon has made it easier for them to "take all the boring books out of our stores." This makes perfect sense since the more technical books and textbooks can be found on Amazon, but perhaps we want something different when it comes to our in store shopping.
Barnes and Noble CEO believes that they sell the better book over Amazon
Personally, I love that the CEO of Barnes and Noble is pointing out that shopping for a book in a store is an entire experience. And having that experience can make a huge difference in terms of reading enjoyment.
As readers, we all know that holding a book in our hands can make all the difference in terms of what we choose to purchase, as well as read. Being able to flip through the pages of a book might be the difference between picking that book up to read or leaving it behind for someone else. And there is no denying that for some of us, going to a physical bookstore is a slippery slope. You might walk in for one book and walk out with five.
Being able to walk into a Barnes and Noble and not only ask a bookseller for help but also flip through multiple books at a time can change the way we make our purchasing decisions. And we have to agree with Duant that in this case, Barnes and Noble really does have the better book. Or at least, we can admit that they have a better book experience.