On November 16 a report revealed that Barnes & Noble Booksellers is making a comeback. Not only is the bookstore doing well, but they are also opening new locations.
According to CNN, it seems that this year alone 60 new bookstores will be opening up. And one of those locations is a returning store in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., which last had a Barnes & Noble store back in 2013. (Yes, they have actually reclaimed their flagship store in D.C., which is exciting news.)
A lot of the the newfound success that Barnes & Noble is experiencing comes from the arrival of a new CEO back in 2018. James Daunt took over the role in 2018 and has been working hard since to turn the company around. And it is clear that he has done that.
But what does Barnes & Nobles comeback mean?
Barnes & Noble making a comeback could be exciting news for readers
For a lot of us, the return of Barnes & Noble is exciting news. It means being able to go into a store for a new book instead of always having to do online shopping. It also gives other bookstores more of a fighting chance.
Over the last few years, it has felt like there has been a shift back towards reading with the help of things like BookTok and that is never a bad thing. And with Barnes & Noble opening 60 new stores, that could make way for smaller stores to survive and thrive as well, as they will no longer have to compete with Amazon as the primary way to get books.
Barnes & Noble can now be more of a voice for the smaller booksellers. And it is something we have technically already seen in their purchase of the Tattered Cover Bookstores in Denver.
We need Barnes & Noble to be the voice of the brick-and-mortar bookstores. In expanding their store locations, they give hope to those of us who want to be able to walk into a store, pick up a book, and feel the pages before making our purchase. They are a chance to get out of the house and they are a way to bring back community.
For me, the Barnes & Noble comeback is some of the best book news we have had in a while.