Barnes and Noble is bracing
for a terrible holiday season because of the recession.

In a memo sent to employees last week, Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio said with the retail environment the worst he has ever seen as a bookseller, the nation’s largest bookstore chain is “bracing for a terrible holiday, and expect[s] the trend to continue well into 2009, and perhaps beyond.” The release of the memo was first reported this afternoon by the Wall Street Journal.


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While Riggio said he still expects B&N to post a “decent profit” this year, the difficult financial environment means the retailer will need to be even more diligent with expense controls, inventory management and capital expenditures. B&N

will continue to invest in its systems, but new store openings will be curtailed and discretionary spending “cut to the bone,” Riggio wrote. In its second quarter report, B&N said it was reducing new store openings in 2009 to 20 to 25, down from its usual openings of 30 to 35 stores.

All retailers are issuing similar, gloomy statements about projected earnings during the holidays. Although really, books make a awesome gift and they are certainly cheaper than electronics.



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Original post by ReadersRead.com Book Blog