Barnes & Noble will open approximately 60 stores this year, according to the Financial Times (FT). The retailer — owned by Elliott Investment Management along with the UK bookseller Waterstones — opened 57 stores in the U.S. and 12 in the UK in 2024 and currently operates 650 stores worldwide.
Waterstones Managing Director James Daunt, who also leads Barnes & Noble, told FT that last year represented a “really significant expansion,” and that the company plans to “do that or more in 2025.”
Daunt, who also owns his own eponymous bookstore chain in the UK, revealed that he was focused on bringing together the IT and finance systems for both Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. He also said it would be logical to look at an IPO of the consolidated businesses in the future, although much would depend on Elliott’s strategy.
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