How many barnes and noble stores are there

While individual stores have received guidance from headquarters on cleaning protocols and social distancing recommendations for customers, enforcement is up to individual store management. Enforcement of social distancing for customers is even more lax. Courtney reports that, although chairs have been removed from reading areas and the cafe at her store has been closed, customers continue to visit the store and linger in public areas.

They stand as close to us as possible, even as we take great care to put distance between us, and cough into the air. At storefronts that remain open, some employees have chosen not to come to work out of fear and are using available paid time off. Others, even some that are at higher risk of contracting COVID, continue coming to work out of fear of unemployment. Courtney shared that she and many colleagues would feel more comfortable continuing to work if stores moved to pick-up only and stop accepting cash payments.

In , Waterstones turned a profit for the first time in eight years. The turnaround was all the more remarkable because Daunt essentially convinced Waterstones to think locally—a reversal of the usual formula for success in big retail stores.

Starbucks, for example, trains baristas to make mocha lattes taste the same way at every location. But Daunt thinks books are a fundamentally different kind of product. Waterstones faced criticism for opening some unbranded stores that could easily be mistaken for indie shop. Daunt says the stores are categorically different from typical Waterstones outposts.

Critics have also come after Waterstones for failing to mimic Daunt Books in one important respect: pay. The UK consensus is that Daunt brought Waterstones back from the brink. Nonetheless, Daunt sees clear parallels between the two chains. As with Waterstones, he thinks this turnaround should start with giving booksellers autonomy over what they sell and display. Of course, this approach requires a staff to support it, and breathing room to build connections with local schools, clubs, and businesses.

A year later, Daunt had changed his tune; he announced that Waterstones would selling Kindles in its stores. Within those nooks are thousands of books, a small selection of DVDs, puzzles and gift items, and a cafe. Rossiter said the store currently employs about 22 people, most of them part-time. While Daunt acknowledged that many of these staff positions would be at or close to minimum wage, he said the company is in the process of changing its employment structure for its stores.

This would mean, in all likelihood, fewer employees per store, but more of them full-time and better-paid. Nov 11, , am EST. Nov 10, , pm EST. Nov 10, , am EST. Edit Story. Feb 9, , pm EST. Kotter Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

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