Barnes and Noble Business Assessment
Barnes and Noble Booksellers
MGT 499 Barnes and Noble was acquired by Leonard Riggio in 1974 after they had fallen into decline. He started his career selling books early in his college career when he founded the Student Book Exchange or SBX. Once purchasing the rights to the name he quickly began transformations on the once giant retailer, making it into his dream, the worlds largest book store. In addition to all the Barnes and Nobles around today, Mr. Riggio also owns an operates over 600 college campus bookstores, like the one at Wright State University, which is where over 4 million students and 250,000 faculty members buy their books.
Internal Environment Barnes and Noble has many strengths which are quickly fading in the ever changing book market. When individuals think of a bookstore these days, typically two come to mind first, Barnes and Noble and their now dead competitor Borders. They had and still have the great strength of partnering with College Campus’s to operate their bookstores which allows them to connect with the consumers who typically spend the most on books (textbooks). With this being said, we also need to point out Barnes and Noble’s weaknesses. This can be summed up by saying that their lack of innovation failed to keep up with consumer trends and the changing market. Barnes and Noble is now trying to compete in the technology market by the creation and selling of their Nook, which is essentially an IPad where you can download and read books electronically. Barnes and Noble’s current leadership team consist of:
Leonard Riggio- Founder and Chairman
William Lynch - CEO
Michael P. Huseby - Chief Financial Officer
Chris Trola - Chief Information Officer
Mary Ellen Keating- Senior VP of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs
Competitive Consequences Performance Implications Valuable Rate Non Substitutable Costly to Imitate
Sustainable C. A. AAR No Yes No Yes
Temporary C. A. Avg - AAR Yes Yes Yes/No Yes
MGT 499 Barnes and Noble was acquired by Leonard Riggio in 1974 after they had fallen into decline. He started his career selling books early in his college career when he founded the Student Book Exchange or SBX. Once purchasing the rights to the name he quickly began transformations on the once giant retailer, making it into his dream, the worlds largest book store. In addition to all the Barnes and Nobles around today, Mr. Riggio also owns an operates over 600 college campus bookstores, like the one at Wright State University, which is where over 4 million students and 250,000 faculty members buy their books.
Internal Environment Barnes and Noble has many strengths which are quickly fading in the ever changing book market. When individuals think of a bookstore these days, typically two come to mind first, Barnes and Noble and their now dead competitor Borders. They had and still have the great strength of partnering with College Campus’s to operate their bookstores which allows them to connect with the consumers who typically spend the most on books (textbooks). With this being said, we also need to point out Barnes and Noble’s weaknesses. This can be summed up by saying that their lack of innovation failed to keep up with consumer trends and the changing market. Barnes and Noble is now trying to compete in the technology market by the creation and selling of their Nook, which is essentially an IPad where you can download and read books electronically. Barnes and Noble’s current leadership team consist of:
Leonard Riggio- Founder and Chairman
William Lynch - CEO
Michael P. Huseby - Chief Financial Officer
Chris Trola - Chief Information Officer
Mary Ellen Keating- Senior VP of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs
Competitive Consequences Performance Implications Valuable Rate Non Substitutable Costly to Imitate
Sustainable C. A. AAR No Yes No Yes
Temporary C. A. Avg - AAR Yes Yes Yes/No Yes