And expose some managers and district managers for what they really are. I'm sure he'd love to hear for you!
From James Daunt, the new owner:
Dear all,
The acquisition of Barnes & Noble has just been completed, meaning that the Company is now privately owned by Elliott Advisors. I am your new CEO and will relocate to New York once my visa (applied for today) is issued. The press release, for those interested in the ways of bankers and their dealings, is attached.
Elliott bought the greater part of Waterstones a little over a year ago, Waterstones being the UK’s largest bookseller and, in effect, the UK’s B&N. They make, therefore, an extraordinary commitment to bookselling. It is a bold and wonderful thing to be doing in an age declared to belong to Amazon and I am certain that, with Elliott’s commitment and resources, we can tilt the balance back in favor of real bookstores.
This, of course, is not to say that it will be easy. Our sales have been dropping every year and with them our profits. No one needs reminding that such a situation forces hard decisions and it is all too easy to fall into a vicious cycle where costs and investment have to be trimmed, leading to less good stores and lower sales, and the repeat of the cycle.
We now set out to invest in our stores, to work on the assortment to make them more attractive to our customers and to get all the many, many parts of the business to work better in support of stores and online. It will take dollars, hard work and intelligence. Most of all, it will take good shop floor bookselling because however stylish we make a store, however great the selection, people come in to stores for the atmosphere and service – in effect, for the people who work in them.
At Waterstones, we have successfully turned the dial. Sensible investment, both in the stores and in the logistics and IT infrastructure that supports them, coupled with an extraordinary effort by our store teams to step up the personality and presentation of their stores, has turned a loss-making business into one now making a record level of profits. We can now cycle these profits back into more investment, better pay and new store openings.
Barnes & Noble is the greatest name in bookselling, anywhere in the world. The genius of Len Riggio was to create a large bookstore that made books and reading available to everyone, not just the few, and then do this on a national scale. The bookstores were, and remain, anchored in their communities, where people from all walks of life come to browse, read and meet other people. This is a precious heritage, one that is now threatened and which we all now work to protect and, better still, to enrich.
The good news is that we have, through the support of our owner, the necessary investment; we have great talent up and down the business, with a highly motivated executive team; we have the best brand; we have scale and an awesome store portfolio; and, above all, we have booksellers who can energize their stores.
As for me, I have been a bookseller for close to 30 years. I set up my own independent bookstore in London at the age of 26, calling it (with a complete failure of imagination) Daunt Books. I now have nine stores of my own, and these remain independent. They are worth visiting, if ever you find yourself in London. I left the shop floor for Waterstones in 2011, taking on 290 stores and a bankrupt business. As already noted, concentrating single-mindedly on the core principles of good bookselling soon restored Waterstones to profitability, and now to sales growth.
Assuming the leadership at Barnes & Noble is both an honor and a responsibility. I do so with some trepidation but also with resolute determination. This great company must prosper again. I am greatly indebted to the wisdom of Len and grateful for the welcome and professionalism of the executive team during the acquisition process. I look forward to meeting in due course as many booksellers as possible, whether in the stores, or in the Home Office and other support areas.
Finally, please do not hesitate to contact me at JDaunt@bn.com. My job is to make your job easier to do better and more effectively, and for it to be more enjoyable. Your thoughts and suggestions as to how this might be done are welcome, as of course are any questions.