Barnes & Noble has resurgence

Barnes & Noble, the New York City-based bookseller founded in 1886, and with an outlet in Cape Girardeau's West Park Mall, is experiencing a post-COVID rebound.

The chain plans to open 30 new locations this year after shuttering 150 of its stores since 2008.

"We've now got both the profitability and the confidence to start opening up stores again," Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt told The Wall Street Journal.

Daunt, also the chief executive of British book chain Waterstone, is being credited with the turnaround after years of losing market share to online competitors such as Amazon.

Under Daunt's leadership, individual Barnes & Noble stores are being given autonomy to function more like local shops rather than cookie-cutter manifestations of a top-down corporate vision, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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