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Averaging 10,000 to 60,000 square feet of floor space and 150,000 different titles per location, Barnes & Noble's "superstores" have revolutionized the industry and made Barnes and Noble the biggest bookseller in the United States. The company currently operates more than 500 superstores. Now Barnes and Noble is entering the Internet fray, engaging in a fierce battle with Amazon.com, the dominant force in on-line book sales - a firm Barnes and Noble has sued for claiming it stocks more books than B & N. The press has been critical of Barnes and Noble for gobbling up smaller, independent competitors, but few retailers can boast the host of inviting couches, 30 percent bestseller discounts, coffee shops, software sections and range of inventory offered by Barnes & Noble superstores. Barnes and Nobles also runs over 375 much-smaller mall stores chains - you know them as Scribners Books, B. Dalton Bookseller, and Doubleday - but Barnes & Noble has been shuttering these stores, as they are less profitable than the superstores. Barnes & Noble opened its first store on New York's Fifth Avenue in 1932. Originally catering to colleges and libraries, the company expanded into one of the leading booksellers in the New York region over the next three decades. Current CEO Leonard Riggio entered the scene in 1971, when he paid $1.2 million for the Barnes & Noble bookstore. Riggio, a Greenwich Village bookseller, later launched the company on to the national scene by introducing the "superstore" concept. The company acquired the B. Dalton chain in 1986, and added Scribner's Bookstores and Bookstop to its roster in 1989. Barnes and Noble also conducts mail-order operations and, in 1997, went "virtual," peddling its goods over the Internet with the help of America Online. Alas poor Shakespeare and Company The ever-growing clout of Barnes & Noble over the publishing industry hasn't escaped the notice (and ire) of waning competitors. In April 1998, more than 4,000 independent bookstores, organized under the American Booksellers Association, hauled both Barnes & Noble and competing bookstore giant Borders into court, alleging that the companies strong-arm publishers into exclusive agreements, making a "level playing field" impossible. In spite of industry pessimism and more rigorous competition from Amazon.com and Borders, Riggio has big plans for Barnes & Noble. These include 500 new superstores and a magazine store chain tentatively called Ink. An art store chain is also waiting in the wings. Foray into publishing In August 1999 Barnes and Noble acquired J.B. Fairfax International USA, a small publishing company. Details were not announced for the purchase of the coffee-table book publisher. Barnes & Noble also has plans to use print-on-demand technology to publish rare and out-of-print books. A deal with IBM, completed in December 1999, called for Big Blue to provide printing equipment for B & N distribution centers, which will allow America's largest bookstore chain to convert digital books into printed versions on demand. In another move to stay on top of the e-publishing craze, in June 2000, Barnes and Noble.com invested $20 million in return for a 30 percent stake in MightyWords, a unit of Fatbrain.com that offers digital versions of books and texts that can be downloaded to a PC. Brick and mortat vs. cyberspace Even though it is armed with the clout of the Barnes & Noble name, barnesandnoble.com (bn.com) is laggin way behind in Amazon.com, both in terms of registered users and books sold. The company's internet interest sells 15 percent of all books sold online, compared to the whopping 75 percent that Amazon.com can boast. Barnesandnoble.com is also dragging down Barnes and Noble's bottom line, but for now, the company is committed to becoming the dominant force in online retailing. The online store has been hurt by constant shakeups in management which have made its stock less attractive to investors. Don't forget what got you there Barnes & Noble, for all of its online efforts, has not stopped investing in its brick and mortar operations. In October 1999, the company announced it was buying Babbage's Etc., a software and video game retailer with 495 stores, mostly in malls. Continuing its video game kick, Barnes and Noble announced in early 2000 that is was buying Funco Inc., whose 404 FuncoLand stores sell new and used video games - so whether you are kicking back with a good book or firing up the DreamCast, chances are you got it at a place owned by Barnes and Noble.
Those interested in working in the corporate offices should forward their resume via regular mail. The company also offers a variety of retail-oriented management positions out of each its stores; applicants seeking to work at the local level should contact the particular store in which they are interested. The interview process for a retail position is described as "very relaxed." Says an insider, "The interview consists of a short conversation with the store manager, or perhaps the department manager or the manager of a specific section. They'll ask a series of questions, mostly focusing on your sales experience, philosophy, and what image you may have of what 'good' customer service would be. Your standard 'strengths and weaknesses' kind of material." However, Barnes and Nobles generally "hires from within" for its top retail positions - bookstore manager (about 300 positions at this level), regional manager (about 20), or vice president of stores (about 5).
Barnes and Noble is split into two divisions - the College Bookstore division and the main Retail division. The College Bookstore Division oversees the Barnes and Noble bookstores that are located on college campuses such as Penn State, Harvard, MIT, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania. Retail oversees the retail Barnes and Nobles and the superstores. "They are like two separate companies with each department having its own accounting and personnel department, vice presidents, payroll department, and receptionists," a source reports. In both divisions, there are plenty of opportunities for advancement. "It's very easy to move up in the company, provided you're bright, ambitious, easy to get along with, and most importantly, willing to relocate," a contact says. "There are bookstores all over the U.S. and there are always openings. The ones that are willing to pack up and move every few years are the ones that really get high on the corporate ladder." However, even rising stars at the company do not see their pay rise astronomically. "Average employees got a three percent raise and the good ones got four percent," an insider says. In-store management at Barnes and Noble love the "heady atmosphere of bookstore life" and are able to avoid many of the day-to-day trials that bedevil other retailers. "The customers are there because they want to be, so it makes for a work day with hardly any complaints," says one employee. Adds another: "Working at B&N is a life-affirming experience." Although some complain about inflexible work schedules, the company has a "relaxed attitude" with "a creative mix of people" working there. In addition, "the culture is fairly chaotic so if you're the kind of person who needs everything set down in writing, move on," a source says. "This is not a company for the anal retentive." One new employee reports that he gladly took a pay cut to start working at Barnes & Noble, because "it has the reputation of being such a wonderful place to work." Still, new hires should expect some grunt work. "Like any retail environment, there is a bit of drudgery - stocking books, for example," a contact says. Employees note that "if you work in any of the stores, expect to work at nights and on the weekends." In the college bookstores, "the first two weeks of each term is the busiest, since that's when all the college students purchase their textbooks. So there is tons of overtime then."
Human Resources
Direct-mail bookselling business;Book publishing business;Online Bookstore
Amazon.com;Borders Group More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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