Barnes & Noble has been on a bit of a roll recently — it released the new NOOK Simple Touch e-reader to critical acclaim, its NOOK Color LCD tablet e-reader (which has only gotten better thanks to continued firmware updates) surpassed Amazon's Kindle as the best-selling e-reader and it has taken a lead in offering multi-media enhanced digital magazines. In a press release outlining the company's latest financial results, the impact of the NOOK effect on B&N's bottom line was spelled out clearly.
Sales at Barnes & Noble's physical bookstores declined slightly over the quarter, dropping to $1 billion. Not significant enough to put the bookseller in risk of joining Borders in the category of failed retailers, but reflective of an ongoing softness in the sale of paper books. However, this drop was more than made up for by performance of the NOOK division, which earned $277 million, a whopping 140 percent increase from the previous quarter.
With the holiday approaching and two of the top ranked and best selling e-readers as exclusives, Barnes & Noble management is bullish about the future, pointing out in the press release:
"The consolidated NOOK business across all of the company’s segments, including sales of digital content, device hardware and related accessories, is expected to double this year to $1.8 billion from $880 million last year and $123 million in fiscal 2010, on a comparable sales basis."
It remains to be seen whether Amazon releases its rumoured Kindle tablet (which would likely compete directly with the NOOK Color) in time to spoil the party, but clearly B&N is reaping the benefits of continued investment in e-reader technology.
Full press release here.