Microsoft’s $300M Nook deal: One year later, it’s MIA

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One year ago, Microsoft and Barnes & Noble surprised the tech world by announcing a “strategic partnership.” Microsoft made a $300 million investment in the bookseller’s Nook e-reader and e-book subsidiary, for a 17.6 percent stake. The deal was completed in October, making Microsoft a key ally for Barnes & Noble in its struggle vs. Amazon’s Kindle…. Read More…

Barnes & Noble is giving away a free e-reader if you buy a Nook HD+ tablet

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Barnes & Noble, the struggling bookstore chain, is looking to supercharge its tablet and e-reader business in the face of intense competition from Apple and Amazon.com. The company just announced that it plans to give away a 6-inch Nook Simple Touch — a $79 device — when customers buy a $269 Nook+ HD tablet. The deal… Read More…

Poll: Should Microsoft buy Barnes & Noble?

The Barnes & Noble in Bellevue, just a few miles from Microsoft's HQ

Barnes & Noble is struggling. Could Microsoft, which invested $300 million in the company’s Nook digital reader business last year, be the bookseller’s savior? Barron’s got the rumor mill going over the weekend when it wrote that Microsoft’s ownership of the nation’s largest bookseller would “jump start” the company’s retail efforts by giving it 677… Read More…

Nook sales plummet, and Barnes & Noble says it’s ‘making some adjustments’

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Barnes & Noble is reporting operating losses of $190 million for its Nook business in its most recent quarter, more than twice the loss posted a year ago — the latest sign that the bookseller is struggling to keep up with Amazon.com in the market for digital books and devices. Sales declined 26 percent in the… Read More…

Report: Barnes & Noble considers future of the Nook

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Nearly a year after Microsoft agreed to invest $300 million in Barnes & Noble’s Nook business unit, the bookseller is seriously considering what to do with the electronic book reader. A report out from The New York Times, citing a person familiar with Barnes & Noble’s strategy, indicates that the company is possibly moving away from… Read More…

Barnes & Noble expects deeper loss in Nook business

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Barnes & Noble, struggling to gain traction against Amazon’s Kindle, expects its Nook business to go deeper into the red. The company delivered the news to investors overnight, saying that the loss in the Nook segment will be greater for its current fiscal year (ending in April) than the $262 million loss recorded by the… Read More…

Barnes & Noble to shut 200+ stores in the next 10 years as Amazon.com threat looms

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Let’s just call it the Amazon.com impact. An executive for Barnes & Noble tells The Wall Street Journal that it will close down as many as 20 stores per year over the next 10 years — part of a plan by the retailer to focus on its most profitable stores. Barnes & Noble also has… Read More…

Rough holiday for Barnes & Noble: Nook sales fall 12.6%

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Sales in Barnes & Noble’s Nook device and e-book business were $311 million for the nine weeks of the 2012 holiday shopping season, down 12.6 percent from the same period a year earlier. That’s the word this morning from the bookseller. Combined with a 10.9 percent decrease in Barnes & Noble’s physical and web retail division,… Read More…

Barnes & Noble’s Nook adds Pearson as investor, warns of weak holiday sales

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Barnes & Noble’s Nook Media e-reading and tablet subsidiary this morning announced a new investor, the Pearson education and publishing company, and separately warned that holiday sales are coming in below its projections. Pearson, which includes the Financial Times Group and Penguin publishing company, will invest $89.5 million in cash for a 5 percent stake in Nook… Read More…

Microsoft, Barnes & Noble seal deal with formation of ‘Nook Media LLC’

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Microsoft and Barnes & Noble finalized their partnership today and gave it a name, Nook Media LLC. The partnership, originally announced in April, is structured for now as a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary, consisting of the bookseller’s digital and college businesses. Microsoft holds a 17.6 percent equity stake in the subsidiary, through a $300 million… Read More…