Barnes & Noble is closing more stores and letting go more employees over the next decade. The unfortunate news was announced on Mon., Jan. 28, 2013 in an interview published by The Wall Street Journal. The chain has already been closing 15 stores per year over the last decade. It simultaneously opened 30 stores annually until 2009. That figure dropped to just two stores for the fiscal year.
Twenty additional stores will be closed annually over the next 10 years. That means the Barnes & Noble closing will leave the book retailer with 450-500 brick and mortar locations out of the 689 stores currently in operation. They also operate a separate chain of 674 college stores.
Declining book sales and a decrease in new malls impacted Barnes & Noble's closing. However, Mitchell Klipper, chief executive of Barnes & Noble's retail group, indicated that leases will be renewed in locations that are meeting expectations. "Why close them if they are making money?" he said.
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