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Weekly News Digest
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August 31, 2021 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.
CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.
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'B&N Rides a Wave of Positive Trends' by Jim Milliot
Jim Milliot writes the following for Publishers Weekly:While [B&N CEO James] Daunt appeared confident B&N could weather the Covid storm, others in the industry were not so sure how much time the new owners would give Daunt to turn around the bookstore chain at a time when the viability of physical retail was being called into question. However, as bookstore sales have bounced back from the depth of last year’s slump (bookstore sales were up 30% in the first half of 2021 over the comparable period last year), publishers say B&N has been performing well. Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp credited Daunt with ‘revitalizing’ the retailer, while HarperCollins [HC] CEO Brian Murray praised Daunt’s decision to remake the stores during the pandemic and for his ability to convince Elliott to keep investing in the business, adding that HC’s sales with B&N are up. … The pandemic has continued to hurt B&N’s café and newsstand results, but books and other core areas, such as educational games, puzzles, and workbooks, have done well, Daunt said. … Daunt gave store employees full credit for getting B&N turned around, acknowledging the difficult conditions they were working under during the depth of the pandemic while also learning a new way of working. He is resolute in his belief that the key for B&N to succeed is to empower store managers. Once the managers have the right tools and support, the best thing to do is ‘to get out [of] the way,’ he said. For more information, read the article.
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Brandi Scardilli
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