Like many other brick & mortar companies struggling to survive, B&N wants to act as they can actually control what's going on. I don't care what the company does it will never be as successful as it was. It's just a sign of the times. Things have changed. The majority of people don't go to stores anymore, let alone bookstores. You go to stores and every one is empty. This is a universal issue for these places. It's the same for pharmacies, electronic stores (the few still around), malls, and even Walmart doesn't get the "in-store" business it once did. Let's add hardware stores to the mix. I live in the 4th largest city in America with about 4 million people in it yet most stores except the grocery stores are empty. Restaurants are full, other businesses are full. But not stores. It's just a new world.
The world is never going to be like it was when "everyone went out to the store and shopped." Sometimes, I miss those days of going into a clothing store and trying on clothes and shoes. I'm a chick so it was fun. But I don't go anywhere now except the grocery store. I order everything online now even some of my groceries. I order my medicine. My dad doesn't do anything online except when he needs to look up a company's phone number. He's in his 70s and old school I get that. But these businesses are trying to put the genie back into the bottle and don't understand this is a new generation. People can get anything they want online without leaving the house. I don't care what B&N, CVS, Target, Lowes, or any company does to change that, people are not going to suddenly start shopping in stores again. Not the majority. It's just too convenient and folks don't mind paying the shipping fees or delivery fees if they can get stuff without hassle. Walmart's even trying to MAKE people shop in stores by having some items unavailable for shipment. It's not working. All those people are doing is ordering from somewhere else.
But, yeah. I don't know. These places should've focused more on trying to adapt to the digital world instead of fighting with Amazon and maybe they'd be in a better place. B&N was years late to the table when it came to e-publishing and indies. They were in the trade publishers' pockets and doing all they could to make sure their bread-and-butter partners survived. Well, it backfired. They got swept up into a timewarp, trying to force folks to buy books THEY wanted them to buy and all that underhandedness they did with trade publishers. How they used to take bribes from different publishers, pit competing publishers against each other for visibility in the store. Not to mention how they completely locked out new trade authors to keep the "big names" on the table. B&N came along back in the late 90s and gobbled up all the mom-and-pop stores and didn't give a sh*t. So don't anybody feel sorry for them I surely don't.
For years, B&N has been hanging on by a thread and at this point, I'm like, just go already.
I haven't been in a bookstore since 2009 probably. And Borders was my favorite anyway. Never did care much for B&N but their staff was nice. I had a few book signings there when I was with the trade pub years ago. Nothing I say is against the staff, of course, it's the company.
B&N is experiencing karma. Amazon did to them what B&N did to the little-guy stores for years. So, you reap what you sow.
I'm sorry you got a case of Goliath turning into David. That's what happens when you stomp over companies. We need to remember the lives and businesses B&N ruined years before Amazon.
I guess it sucks when you're no longer the king.