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Barnes & Noble To Close A Third of Their Stores: Will L.A. Lose Locations?
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We knew it was coming: Barnes & Noble is going to close several more locations around the nation, cutting about a third of their stores.
A clearer picture of what is to come for the bookselling chain was revealed by Mitchell Klipper, chief executive of Barnes & Noble's retail group via a new interview, according to the Wall Street Journal.
B&N plans to shut about 20 stores a year for the next 10 years. Currently there are 689 Barnes & Noble stores (not counting the nearly 700 additional college stores), but a decade from now there will be an estimated 450 to 500 left. There are 77 stores in California with 36 stores in L.A. (within 50 miles of Los Angeles).
Things had been ticking along for the popular big box bookstore chain, until the emphasis on digital readers really hit hard. Over the last decade they were shutting about 15 stores a year, but until recent years, were averaging 30 new store openings a year. Last fiscal year, B&N only opened two new locations.
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In late 2011 came word the B&N at the Westside Pavilion was on the chopping block, and prior to that, the one in Encino was shuttered. There are still Barnes & Noble stores locally at The Grove, on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, at the Americana in Glendale, in Old Town Pasadena, and in Burbank, among other locations, but it's not known at this point if any Los Angeles stores are slated to be closed in the next few years.L.A. also lost big box book retailer Borders recently, leaving lovers of the physical book to find a B&N, an independent seller, order online, hit up the library, or download their tomes to their e-readers.
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