A 136-Year-Old Bookstore Teaches Us How To Be ‘Relevant’

Everyone loves a comeback story. The Boston Red Sox in 2004 … Robert Downey Jr. … Steve Jobs. They all made comebacks and, ironically, became better versions of their previous selves. There is a very special recent comeback that caught my attention, and you would never guess that it’s from a 136-year-old bookstore – Barnes & Noble. Yes – BARNES & NOBLE!

The numbers don’t lie. In a matter of four years, they have gone from an irrelevant chain of bookstores to one of the biggest comeback stories in business today. Their book sales have vaulted way past their pre-pandemic levels. They opened 16 new stores in 2022 and plan to open 30 in 2023.

Prior to 2020, Barnes & Noble was about as uncool as you could get. They had drifted far away from who they were. Aside from books, they were selling toys (yes, toys!), greeting cards, calendars and, of course, coffee. The books were mostly those that publishers would pay them to display. Amazon became the place to get the books you wanted the way you wanted them. B & N became an afterthought, and everyone thought they were headed for the same fate as their pre-2012 competitor, Borders Books.

Now, this longtime bookstore group is flying high in the face of dismal performances from the likes of Meta, Spotify, Netflix and others in the digital media world. Imagine a 136-year-old bookstore outperforming digital media.

How did they do it? Well, apparently it had everything to do with a four-letter word – LOVE!

In simple terms, the new CEO, James Daunt, was all about love. “If you want to sell books, you must love books.” That was his one and only vision statement for Barnes & Noble. With that in mind, he let each individual store determine what worked for that particular store, knowing he had staff at those stores who cared about books and knew about their community. He and his staff weeded out anything that didn’t have to do with books and let the individual stores handle it from there.

The results are not only in the numbers, but also a very passionate employee group in each store actually selling books! The books that appealed to the clientele of that store and to the reading population of that store’s market.

Think about that. A not-so-relevant product reinvents itself and is now wildly successful. Does it sound like a formula we, in radio, should study? At Barnes & Noble, in the mid-2010s, financial statements took precedence over what, originally, had driven the stores – creativity in selling books. As this story notes, creative forces live and die based on creativity, NOT financial statements. Again – the numbers didn’t lie. They were losing LOTS of money.

Think about the earlier statement from James Daunt about loving books. Let’s say it together – “If you want to succeed in radio, you must LOVE radio.” Barnes & Noble decided to put readers first. Everything they have done in the past four years has reflected their readers.

I visited a local store in nearby Brentwood, TN, recently and saw the difference firsthand. I spoke to an employee there, and they concurred about the fact that they have retained control as to what the store displays and highlights along with the actual store setup.

Do we ACTUALLY put our listeners first now, or are we more focused on getting those TSL numbers up to ensure our AQH? I’m not minimizing the importance of ratings in our business. I am just wondering if we should just reset our priorities. Look closely at this unlikely success story. Put your radio station in the place of Barnes & Noble and what would you do?

1. Find and cultivate those people who are uber passionate about radio and the listeners. No naysayers allowed.
2. Find and cultivate people who BELIEVE in the product. Total devotees. Devoted enough to have an idea what excites and turns off your particular audience.
3. Finally, allow your staff to help shape the radio station now and for its future. They are there right in the middle of it all every day. Considering you have all the above, depend on their feelings and ideas to create a sound that separates you from the others.

With Barnes & Noble, each store has become its own entity, even though it is part of a very large chain. One different from any other. NO homogenization. Total individualization.

The numbers don’t lie now, either! Follow James Daunt’s (and the Beatles’) advice – All You Need Is Love! Check out the full Barnes & Noble story here.

“Taking Your Radio Presence To The Next Level. Be it an artist, radio programmer or on-air talent. Coaching and mentoring down to your foundational level”

Contact me:
John Shomby
Owner/CEO Country’s Radio Coach
jshomby@countrysradiocoach.com
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