is a large
United States speciality
Retailer , which operates chiefly through its ''Barnes & Noble Booksellers'' chain of
Bookstore s. Additionally, in some markets, the company operates the smaller ''Bookstar'' and ''B. Dalton Booksellers'' chains, with the latter's branches chiefly located in shopping malls. The company is known for large, upscale retail outlets, many of which contain a
Café serving
Starbucks Coffee , and for competitive discounting of bestsellers. Most stores also sell
Magazine s,
Newspaper s,
DVD s,
Graphic Novel s,
Gifts ,
Games , and
Music . In addition, most stores have bargain book sections, which have products such as hardcover books with deep discounts. Video games and related items were sold in the company's
GameStop retail outlets until October 2004, when the division was spun-off into an independent company.
As of
January 31 ,
2004 , the company operated 840 stores in 50
U.S. State s and the
District Of Columbia . They plan to open 30-35 new stores every year.
Barnes & Noble's start could be traced back to
1873 when Charles M. Barnes opened up a store in
Wheaton ,
Illinois as a book printer. The first true bookstore was actually set up by his son, William (in partnership with G. Clifford Noble), in
1917 in
New York City . During the
1950s and
60's their bookstore in New York vied with
Brentano's as a new-book retailer. Barnes & Noble distinguished itself by selling
Textbook s, scholarly, and technical books as well as a huge selection of general-interest titles.
The business was purchased in
1971 by Leonard Riggio, its current chairman. Riggio oversaw the growth of the struggling business into the largest retailer of books in
North America , where its critics claim it has contributed (along with online retailer
Amazon.com ) to the decline of local booksellers. In 2002, Leonard Riggio's brother Stephen Riggio was named CEO.
The chain opened an online bookstore,
bn.com , in
1997 , largely to compete with Amazon. The two businesses make an interesting comparison, because as of
2003 Amazon was and is a pure
Internet business, while Barnes & Noble combines what is practically a clone of the Amazon Internet bookstore with their huge chain of brick-and-mortar retail stores.
converted to a Barnes & Noble bookstore in
Rochester, Minnesota .]]
Unlike most other bookstore chains, Barnes & Noble has a significant publishing business line. Under its own imprint, Barnes & Noble publishes a number of specialty titles, particularly large-format
Coffee Table Book s featuring photography, graphic arts, or maps. These include a number of books where Barnes & Noble has acquired the U.S. or English-language rights from another publisher, or where copyright has expired, and arranges for the material to be inexpensively reprinted, often in
Singapore or
China . In addition, Barnes & Noble commissions reprint anthologies and omnibus editions using in-house editors.
Beginning around
1992 through early
2003 , Barnes & Noble released a series of Adult and Children
Literature Classics . Originally only available in hardcover, most of the titles came in a black dustjacket version as well as a cream colored dustjacket version. In 2003, Barnes & Noble revamped and expanded the line of Literature Classics as well as released them in both hardcover and paperback mass market editions. As of October 2005 they continue to release new titles to their Classics selection.
In
2002 , Barnes & Noble acquired Sterling Publishing, which chiefly publishes
How-to books. In 2001, Barnes and Noble acquired
SparkNotes , popular educational website and publishing company.
CEO Stephen Riggio has been quoted as saying that he expects 10% of Barnes & Noble bookstore sales to come from books published in-house. While this has been praised as a good business strategy, it is controversial in both bookselling and publishing industry circles because of the competitive advantages conferred by
Vertical Integration .
Most Barnes & Noble locations feature a Barnes & Noble Café, serving a modified
Starbucks beverage menu, along with bakery items from
The Cheesecake Factory and bottled beverages from a multitude of vendors including but not limited to Tazo Teas, Jones Juices, Elliot's Amazing Juices and Fiji Water. B&N Cafés are owned and operated exclusively by Barnes & Noble, Inc. Nevertheless, the Starbucks logo is a prominent portion of the overall B&N café branding package, and is depicted on cups, architectural signage, and employee uniforms. Understandably, this leads to confusion for many customers, often traveling, who attempt to use their Starbucks gift cards, or order drinks that are available in ''actual'' Starbucks stores but are not on the somewhat pared-down Barnes & Noble Café menu.
Ironically Barnes & Noble's competition,
Borders , also has a relationship with
Starbucks , as they are replacing their cafés with cafés that feature the Starbucks-owned brand,
Seattle's Best Coffee .
In
2004 , Barnes & Noble began offering
Wi-fi in the café area of selected stores, using the
AT&T FreedomLink network. As of late 2005, service was available in approximately 600 out of B&N's 850 stores, with all stores to be wired by the end of 2006.
