Barnes & Noble is taking a different approach to revitalizing its sales with smaller stores, according to Forbes. A fifth small-format prototype store will open in Woodbury, Minn. in May 2019, following stores that opened in Columbia, Md., Vernon Hills, Ill., Hackensack, N.J. and Staten Island, N.Y. earlier in 2018.
The Woodbury store will be 21,000 square feet in size, while other stores have been as small as 14,000 square feet. The prototypes share several features, including oak bookshelves, USB and electricity ports at tables in the café area and 360-degree “book theaters” where customers can browse and read.
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The new store layouts follow a February 2018 round of downsizing at Barnes & Noble that affected an unspecified number of employees, saving approximately $40 million in annual costs. The retailer is also fighting a lawsuit by former CEO Demos Parneros, who claims he was fired without cause in July 2018.
