In a presentation to investors Thursday morning, company execs unveiled the new cafes that will be the centerpiece of its new concept stores, discussed plan to grow store and online sales, and strategy to continue to shrink Nook losses.
The centerpiece of the new stores will be an expanded café, which company executives–from CEO Ron Boire, on down–said they are extremely excited about. Underlining the importance of the cafes, just before the presentation to investors, B&N promoted Jaime Carey, chief operating officer, to president of development & restaurant group.
The new cafes will be about twice the size of current cafes, and feature table-side service. A new expanded menu is being overseen by an executive chef that will feature “American-style” fare, as well as wine and beer. In addition to boosting sales through the cafés themselves (which now bring in a little less than 10% of annual revenue), B&N execs expect that the improved space will drive more customers to the stores and help make each outlet more of a destination center for community members.
The new stores will also have better seating and more open space than existing stores, and books will be categorized in new ways that will make titles easier to find, according to Mary Amicucci, chief merchandising officer. Despite the expanded café, the stores will still have a broad assortment of books, which will comprise about 60% of the store’s revenue.
The new stores will also include more table displays, where curated titles will be featured. Booksellers will be equipped with tablets to answer customers’ questions via text, and a new app will allow customers to find titles in stores through a digitally created wish list.
Source: Looking to Future, B&N Puts Its Faith In Bricks and Mortar