Has your store manager discussed sales with you? Probably not, things are really bad and the company doesn't want you to know about it and definitely not talking about it. They've been very secretive about everything lately but financial analysts have been making predictions based on what they've found out and things are worse than the store managers even know.
Meanwhile, B&N Education which was quite successful has taken a huge hit as well.
With the latest financial year loss of US$38m and a trailing-twelve-month loss of US$128m, the US$406m market-cap company amplified its loss by moving further away from its breakeven target. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which Barnes & Noble Education will turn a profit.
Also Barnes & Noble Education currently has a relatively high level of debt. Generally, the rule of thumb is debt shouldn’t exceed 40% of your equity, which in Barnes & Noble Education's case is 44%. A higher level of debt requires more stringent capital management which increases the risk around investing in the loss-making company.
All of this means that financial analysts don't have a good feeling about the company surviving much longer. A year at best.