Although B&N sells physical books online and digital books through its e-reader platform, the company continues operate 649 brick-and-mortar stores with annual sales of $1.4 billion. By August, however, B&N’s college-bookstore business will be split off from the profitable retail chain and money-losing Nook division. The company still sees promise in its retail efforts and recently decided to reduce the number of store closures from 20 to 13—thanks in part to the sale of craft beer kits, portable turntables, and other novelty gifts, as the Wall Street Journal reported.
Shoppers who prefer a box of Godiva chocolates to a book will still walk away with a literary-themed bag, and B&N intends for the disposable carrier to find aspirational reuse—just as some shoppers repurpose their status-infused Tiffany, Barneys, or Organic Avenue bags as lunch totes. Kaplan looks to New York’s streets for signs that the new design is working: “I’ve seen a lot of reused bags in my travels around town,” the Barnes & Noble executive says.
Article Appeared @http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-23/can-barnes-noble-s-redesigned-shopping-bags-revive-its-bookstores-