Barnes and Noble released a statement today that confirmed what many industry insiders have been talking about in hushed voices. The company verified today that sales of ebooks and e-readers will be less then 3 billion dollars. B&N also mentioned that in 2012, its entire digital division saw a loss of $262 million dollars.
One of the big reasons Barnes and Noble is seeing lower sales volume is because of the sheer amount of new products hitting the market. When the original Nook WIFI and Nook Color were released, the market was not as inundated with gadgets as it is now. There is a global increase of low-cost alternatives from Amazon, Google, Asus, and Samsung.
The company also reported weak holiday sales for the Nook in January, as it sold fewer e-readers and tablets at its own retail locations. Holiday sales fell by 12.6% over the previous year, and only garnered $311 million dollars. This news did not resonate with investors, with B&N’s shares falling 4% percent to $13.60 yesterday.
Barnes and Noble will be hosting an investors’ call on February 28th, which should shed some light on what methods it is going to employ to bolster up the ailing Nook division.
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.