Sales at Barnes & Noble in the third quarter ended November 1 fell 4.4% to $1.1 billion, and the net loss was $18.4 million compared to a net gain of $4.4 million in the same period in 2007. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 7.4%. Sales at B&N.com rose 2% to $109 million.
The company also lowered predictions for the fourth quarter, saying it expects comp-store sales to decline 6%-9% and for the full year to drop 5%-6%.
The results were below analysts' expectations, and on another down day on Wall Street B&N shares closed at $12.25, off 6.5%. In the past year, B&N stock has traded for as high as almost $40 a share. In the past month, the stock has lost more than half its value.
In a statement, B&N CEO Steve Riggio blamed the sales decline on "a significant drop off in customer traffic and consumer spending." Still, he said that the company has "aggressively managed expenses to operate profitably. Furthermore, the company is taking measures to reduce expenses for the balance of this year and next."
Part of that effort has included the reduction of inventory by $107 million compared to last year. According to the Wall Street Journal, Riggio said in a conference call that the company is stocking as many titles as in the past but in fewer quantities.
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Books-A-Million reports its third quarter results later today, and Borders reports next Wednesday. Borders stock fell yesterday to $1.37 a share, down 23%--and it's down 83% for the year. The situation has gotten so bizarre that Borders's market capitalization is only $82 million, meaning that theoretically one could buy the company for about $164,000 per superstore--much less than the inventory in it.
And, of course, rumors are flying. One predicts Baker & Taylor, which itself has had significant layoffs, will buy Borders.
Staffing news from publishers is not good. Recently some houses have made layoffs, including Doubleday and Rodale, and in another sign of belt tightening, Random House has made changes with its pension plan, joining many other U.S. corporations in relying more on 401(k)s than traditional defined-benefit pensions. As the AP reported, Random has frozen benefits for current employees and as of the new year, will no longer enroll new employees in the plan. The company does offer matching funds up to 6% for 401(k) plans.