Barnes & Noble executives confirmed during the company’s fiscal year-ending earnings conference call that Nook sales are on the decline. To turn this segment around, the bookseller is ready to rethink its strategy for the eReader device.
Executives confirmed that sales of the tablet declined 34% in the fourth quarter, recording a $475 million EBITDA loss for fiscal year 2013. This figure was much higher than previous expected and is being interpreted as a sign that Barnes & Noble needs to change its tablet strategy.
Rather than go it alone, Barnes & Noble said it may partner with another hardware manufacturer to help make future tablet devices. The device would likely carry the brand name of the manufacturer as well as Barnes & Noble. This hardware partner was not identified during the company’s earning conference call, but Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch did say that additional information would be released in the next few months.
[Via Seeking Alpha and WSJ]