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On Monday, February 12th, Barnes & Noble fired a number of employees.
From CNBC:
Barnes & Noble is trimming its staff, laying off lead cashiers, digital leads and other experienced workers in a company-wide clearing, CNBC has learned from sources familiar with the matter.
The news came abruptly for many workers who showed up Monday morning at various Barnes & Noble locations to be notified that they no longer had a job, the people said. The number of affected workers couldn't immediately be determined. As of April 29 of last year, Barnes & Noble employed about 26,000 people.
"[Barnes & Noble] has been reviewing all aspects of the business, including our labor model," a spokeswoman told CNBC about the layoffs. "Given our sales decline this holiday, we're adjusting staffing so that it meets the needs of our existing business and our customers. As the business improves, we'll adjust accordingly."
From The Digital Reader:
The initial report said B&N had fired "lead cashiers, digital leads, and other experienced workers", but what that report missed - and why this was worth bringing up a day later - was that B&N also fired nearly all of its receiving managers in what current and ex-employees are calling Bloody Monday.
[...] When B&N fires a digital sales lead, it means they'll sell fewer Nooks. This is no big deal given how B&N's digital revenues have fallen since 2013. When B&N fires a head cashier, it means you're in for longer waits at the register.
But when B&N fires its receiving managers, it means that B&N won't have the merchandise to sell you because the person who was responsible for making sure shelves get stocked does not work there any more.
Previously: Barnes & Noble Reports Holiday Revenues Down
Barnes & Noble Pivots to Books
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday February 14 2018, @08:54PM (2 children)
Oh, I agree. And that's absolutely correct about "selling an experience". But I just don't think it's possible for a large corporation to copy the indies and sell an experience like that. You're just not going to get people passionate about books to come work for peanuts at some mega-chain; the indies can do it because the guy/girl who loves books also owns the place and runs it the way they see fit, rather than according to some corporate mandate. There's really no way to reconcile this.
If B&N wants to survive, they'll have to reinvent themselves somehow, to offer something that Amazon just can't. Perhaps they should expand their cafes and become places where people with laptops can hang out all day long, perhaps they should downsize a lot so they're only the size that Waldenbooks stores used to be instead of taking up almost as much space as Dick's, perhaps they should try to buy up that other e-reader company, perhaps they should get into comic books, I don't know.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday February 14 2018, @10:17PM
Yes, I think you're right that if B&N tries to just copy the indie-feel they'd almost certainly fall flat. I have known B&N folks who are true bibliophiles - though you're right that there are plenty who are not, as well. The sad part is that they have been trying... I don't agree with the choices they've been making (maybe that's because between a Toys R Us and a really good games store in town, so much of that aspect is just poor copies of what I already have access to). They're pulling back from that a little, but it almost feels like Radio Shack did in going from a hobbyist store into a computer franchise to a not-quite electronics retailer to a cellphone store where it died. They probably don't have a lot of time left to find that voice - though that's just my feely-guess and not based on data.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by FakeBeldin on Thursday February 15 2018, @03:17PM
Funny, that indy feeling is the impression I got in Waterstones in Piccadilly circus. That's 6 floors, but (the way I remember it now) with here and there small cards saying "Why I love this book, by ... reason ...".
Dunno if that was completely faked or just company-wide suggestions distributed to all chains (Waterstones is not really small), or actual suggestions of the staff that works at that location. But it did come across as if the people who work there, care about books.
(Similarly good for the impression is the fact that they have lazy/comfy chairs for reading all over the place on each floor. It really gives you the feeling that you're welcome to sit down and read a book - as opposed to the cries of "this is not a library!" you'd encounter all to frequently elsewhere.)