The Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight Plus 2019 edition has been suffering from stock shortages since it came out in early June. Each store was allocated just a handful of units and it sold out online within 24 hours of release. It looks like the stock situation has stabilized, retail bookstores have all received more e-readers and they also can be ordered online again.
Barnes and Noble did not anticipate the demand for the new Nook, which is why they initially had a very small production run. This is good news for the struggling bookseller, who is in the midst of selling the company to Elliot, and a new CEO will take the reigns later this year.
Will the new Nook make B&N profitable again? In the latest financial results that ended April 30th 2019, Nook sales fell 17.1% and the platform generated 92.1 million in e-reader sales, accessories and ebook sales. They basically lost $6.4 million over the period, during the same period last year they lost $8.5 million. Now it is important to note that they did not have Nook Glowlight Plus sales to report during this period. We might never know if the new e-reader turned things around, if Elliot takes over, they likely will not report financial results anymore, since they are taking the company private.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
