Chairman Recognizes Value in Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS)

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The big “if”
The trends that Barnes & Noble saw last year all turned ugly in the holiday season. Traffic fell, comparable sales fell, and revenue fell. I have a hopeful vision for what Barnes & Noble can be if Riggio has his way, but right now things look rough. Riggio has, in the past, shown great belief in the earning power of the digital business, but his desire to leave that business aside may now point to a change in attitude. I think Riggio has wiped the sleep from his eyes and woken up to see that he has a choice to compete in one of two arenas — the digital space that Amazon is fighting for along with every other tablet producer, or the physical bookstore space. Riggi has decided to focus on the space with the least amount of competitors instead, and probably wisely.

The article Chairman Recognizes Value in Barnes & Noble originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Andrew Marder.

Fool contributor Andrew Marder owns none of the stocks mentioned in this article, but he did work for Barnes & Noble. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com and owns shares of Amazon.com and Microsoft.

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