> when you used to be able to go to Barnes & Noble
I recently went to a relatively new Barnes & Noble in a growing flyover state city, and was very surprised at the way this location felt like Borders or B&N 20+ years ago.
No substantial sign of the bookstore -> big giftshop with books trend I felt like I'd seen everywhere over the last decade. Very substantial selection of books, pretty sure I saw an Asimov title and some Manning.
This was in an area with a lot of growth (and tech expansion specifically), but chances are slim you've even heard of the city unless you've lived in this state (one not even in the top half of populous states in the US).
It's especially interesting considering that B&N owns their stores (no franchisee/indie optimism in play here).
Not sure if it's a trend, but it was a good experience!
I live in one of these cities and the local B&N is frozen in time - in a good way - and it is always packed with people.
It has just as much space devoted to books as it did when it first opened over 30 years ago. Lego took over a few aisles, but the original Software Etc. section is now all books - a net zero change.
Other than that, it hasn't changed one bit. Frozen in the early 1990s. Original wallpaper and everything. It even smells the same.
When our friends and family visit, they all demand to visit this holy site - and they always leave with bags full of books.
I recently went to a relatively new Barnes & Noble in a growing flyover state city, and was very surprised at the way this location felt like Borders or B&N 20+ years ago.
No substantial sign of the bookstore -> big giftshop with books trend I felt like I'd seen everywhere over the last decade. Very substantial selection of books, pretty sure I saw an Asimov title and some Manning.
This was in an area with a lot of growth (and tech expansion specifically), but chances are slim you've even heard of the city unless you've lived in this state (one not even in the top half of populous states in the US).
It's especially interesting considering that B&N owns their stores (no franchisee/indie optimism in play here).
Not sure if it's a trend, but it was a good experience!