Barnes & Noble sees it sales of e-books rising from about $250
million in 2010 to over $2 billion in 2015, according to a presentation
made by CEO William Lynch at Liberty Media’s investor meeting Thursday.
While e-book sales are expected to skyrocket, sales of print books
through B&N are expected to fall from about $3.6 billion in 2010 to
about $2.8 billion in 2015, Lynch reported.
Despite the decline in print sales by 2015, B&N sees its share
of the print book market growing over the years from an estimated 17% in
2010 to 20% in 2015 due in part to the closure of Borders and what it
believes will be the decision by large chain stores that currently sell
books as a sideline to abandon the business. As the company said in September when
it reported first quarter results for fiscal 2012, it expects the
demise of Borders to boost store sales between $300 million to $400
million on an annual basis. Based on industry forecasts, B&N sees
the overall print book business falling from an estimated $21 billion in
2010 to $14 billion in 2015, while e-book sales rise to $7 billion from
$1 billion.
B&N’s growth won’t come from just sales of e-books, however,
but from gains across the digital spectrum. It anticipates that in
fiscal 2012 it will sell $1.8 billion in Nook devices and content
(e-books, magazines, apps and PubIt! services) compared to $880 million
in fiscal 2011. It put its share of the digital newsstand business at
about 30%, and Lynch reiterated what he said in September that PubIt! is
B&N’s fastest-growing digital business.
He also once again stressed the importance of using Nook displays
in its stores as a competitive advantage in selling digital devices and
content as well as its 35,000 booksellers. With Borders gone, Lynch
noted is the only national bookstore chain remaining for developers,
leading to favorable deals. Lynch also repeated B&N’s strategy of
expanding in the educational toys and games business.
For its part, Libery laid out some of the reasons it made its $204
million investment in B&N earlier this year during the investor
meeting. It too cited B&N as being the only national bookseller that
operates profitable stores with short-term leases and with a good
chance to profit from the liquidation of Borders. The physical stores
will drive sales of digital goods, Libery said, and noted that it
believes B&N is "cracking the code of e-book service, e-reader and
low-end tablet market."
* From PW Daily
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