Published: July 30, 2010
Barnes & Noble Expands NOOK In-Store Retail Presence - Reflects Rapid and Robust Growth of eBook Market Share in One Year
NEW YORK - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest
bookseller, today announced that the company is expanding its in-store
NOOK displays to full-service eReading NOOK Boutiques to accommodate
this rapidly growing segment of Barnes & Noble's business. At the
one-year anniversary of its entry into the eBook market, the company has
gained awards and acclaim with its expansive eBookstore, family of NOOK
eBook Readers and popular free NOOK software to shop and read on the
most popular mobile and computing devices, including iPad , iPhone,
iPod touch, BlackBerry®, Android and HTC HD2
smartphones, HP computers, PC, and Mac.
The commitment of resources and floor space for the NOOK Boutiques
recognizes the significant role that Barnes & Noble stores - and
experienced staff - have played in this success, and will better enable
booksellers to help customers explore, access and enjoy eReading in
stores, where the majority of devices to date have been sold. NOOK eBook
Readers continue to be Barnes & Noble's best-selling items. Consistently
strong device sales accelerated recently with the introduction of NOOK
Wi-Fi available for $149 and the new, lower price for NOOK 3G available
for $199.
The expansion of Barnes & Noble's digital strategy has fueled growth
across channels. Among Members - Barnes & Noble's very best customers -
the company has seen an approximately 20 percent increase in their
combined digital and physical spend since purchasing a NOOK and over a
70 percent increase on a unit basis. The widespread appeal of Barnes &
Noble's NOOK devices and free and popular eReading software has also
triggered significant expansion of Barnes & Noble's customer base, with
25 percent of NOOK users new to BN.com.
Reflecting the strength of the NOOK brand, Barnes & Noble is
transitioning its entire eReading offering to be NOOK-centric, with the
newly released NOOK for Android to be followed soon by an updated NOOK
for iPhone, NOOK for iPad, and others in the coming months, along with
the soon-to-launch NOOKstudy online study platform and software solution
for higher education.
"We entered the eBook market a year ago confident our bookstores would
be a huge competitive asset, and a year later, the role of our retail
channel in the success of NOOK and eBooks, and the popularity of our
in-store eReading features have crystallized this advantage," said
William J. Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble. "No other company is doing what
Barnes & Noble is doing, utilizing its store footprint and innovative
technology to add value to the customer's eReading experience -
including unique features such as digital eBook lending, free Wi-Fi
connectivity, in-store browsing of complete eBooks and exclusive
content, and more."
Lynch added, "The NOOK Boutique concept was designed to ensure we're
maximizing the growth potential for all channels through our bookstores,
which will continue to focus on delivering customers the joy, discovery
and exploration of reading in a comfortable, community setting. Our
growing leadership in technology and digital content is simply deepening
the experience."
The 1,000 square-foot boutiques will feature demonstration tables and
multiple operating NOOK devices for trial. An adjoining wall and large
flat panel display will feature video demos of NOOK eBook Readers and
display more than 100 accessories, including NOOK covers by popular
designers such as kate spade new york, Jack Spade, Jonathan Adler and
Lilly Pulitzer. Each NOOK Boutique will be fully staffed by
knowledgeable booksellers who will offer book lovers device
demonstrations, help customers download Barnes & Noble's free NOOK
software to their mobile or computing devices, and provide ongoing
support.
The boutiques, which will begin rolling out this summer and through the
fall, mark yet another enhancement to the in-store experience which
drives book lovers to visit Barnes & Noble stores. In addition to the
unique ability to share eBooks with friends through Barnes & Noble's
LendMe technology, NOOK owners already enjoy a variety of in-store
programs and promotions, including the beta Read In Store feature,
which allows customers to browse many complete eBooks for free, and the
More In Store program, which offers free, exclusive content from
bestselling authors and special promotions. Customers take advantage of
both Read In Store and More In Store through access to fast and free
Wi-Fi connectivity in Barnes & Noble stores. As a result of these and
other in-store offerings, Barnes & Noble currently averages more than 2
million free Wi-Fi connections per month in its stores.
Barnes & Noble customers can shop the company's eBookstore through NOOK
eBook Readers, NOOK software-enabled computers and mobile device, and
online at www.BN.com/ebooks
to access more than 1 million eBooks - from new releases to thousands of
free classics - newspapers, magazines and other digital content, all
available for immediate download to enjoy within seconds. Customers
shopping today will find 199 of 205 New York Times Best Sellers
available for immediate download.
The Barnes & Noble Digital Library Advantage
Barnes & Noble's Lifetime Library helps ensure that Barnes & Noble
customers will always be able to access their digital libraries on a
variety of devices as well as on BN.com. In addition, Barnes & Noble's
use of ePub format and Adobe technology allows customers to read all of
their digital content across a growing universe of devices.
About NOOK from Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble's NOOK brand of eReading products offer customers a fun,
easy-to-use and immersive digital reading experience. With
NOOK, customers gain access to Barnes & Noble's expansive eBookstore of
more than one million digital titles, and the ability to enjoy content
across the widest variety of devices. NOOK eBook Readers are the most
full-featured, dedicated eReading devices on the market, featuring a
color touch screen for navigation along with a best-in-class E-Ink
display. NOOK 3G ($199) offers both free 3G wireless and Wi-Fi
connectivity and NOOK Wi-Fi ($149) features Wi-Fi connectivity. In
Barnes & Noble stores, customers with NOOK devices can access free Wi-Fi
connectivity, enjoy the beta Read In Store feature to browse many
complete eBooks for free, and the More In Store program, which offers
free, exclusive content and special promotions. Barnes & Noble is the
only company to offer digital lending for a wide selection of eBooks
through its LendMe technology, available exclusively through NOOK
eReading products. Find NOOK devices in Barnes & Noble stores and online
at www.nook.com.
NOOK devices are also available at Best Buy stores and www.bestbuy.com.
In addition to NOOK devices, Barnes & Noble makes it easy for customers
to enjoy any book, anytime, anywhere with its free line of NOOK
software, available at www.bn.com/ebooks/download-reader.asp.
Customers can access and read eBooks from their personal BN digital
library on devices including iPad , iPhone, iPod touch®, BlackBerry®,
Android and HTC HD2 smartphones, HP computers, PC, and Mac. Barnes &
Noble will soon offer NOOKstudy (www.nookstudy.com),
an online study platform and software solution for higher education.
For more information on NOOK device and eReading software updates, new
eBook releases, Free Friday eBooks and more, follow us on www.twitter.com/eBooksBN
and www.facebook.com/NOOKBN.
ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE, INC.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a
Fortune 500 company, operates 720 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes &
Noble College Booksellers, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes &
Noble, also operates 637 college bookstores serving nearly 4 million
students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the
United States. Barnes & Noble is the nation's top bookseller brand for
the seventh year in a row, as determined by a combination of the brand's
performance on familiarity, quality, and purchase intent; the top
bookseller in quality for the second year in a row and the number two
retailer in trust, according to the EquiTrend Brand Study by Harris
Interactive. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes
& Noble.com (www.bn.com),
one of the Web's largest e-commerce sites, which also features more than
one million titles in its eBookstore (www.bn.com/ebooks).
Through Barnes & Noble's NOOKTM eReading product
offering, customers can buy and read eBooks on the widest range of
platforms, including NOOK eBook Readers, devices from partner companies,
and hundreds of the most popular mobile and computing devices using free
NOOK software.
General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the
Internet by visiting the company's corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.
NOOKTM LendMe , Read In Store , More In Store and Lifetime
Library are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Other trademarks referenced in this release are the property of their
respective owners.
Social Media Links:
Follow B&N on Twitter: www.bn.com/twitter
Become
a fan of our Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/barnesandnoble
Subscribe
to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/BNStudio
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6379037&lang=en
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Mary Ellen Keating, 212-633-3323
Corporate
Communications
mkeating@bn.com
or
Carolyn
J. Brown, 212-633-4062
Corporate Communications
cbrown@bn.com
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