Barnes & Noble will open 60 new stores next year, adding to the dozens of locations the bookseller added in 2025. The bookseller said 2026 leases are confirmed in nine states and the District of Columbia.
“For 2026, we are planning to open another 60 stores across the country, not only entering new markets, but to return to those we once served,” said a Barnes & Noble spokesperson in comments provided to Retail TouchPoints. “Barnes & Noble is enjoying a period of tremendous growth as the strategy to hand control of each bookstore to its local booksellers has proven so successful. We are experiencing strong sales in our existing stores and have been opening many new stores after more than 15 years of declining store numbers.”
The bookseller plans to open stores in Ohio, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Washington state, California, Virginia, Georgia and Washington, D.C., with “several openings” in these states slated to occur between now and June 2026.
In January 2025, Barnes & Noble announced plans to open approximately 60 stores this year, and in November 2025 the retailer announced it would host shop-in-shops featuring the intellectual property of film studio A24 at nine locations, including NYC’s Union Square, LA’s The Grove at Farmers Market and the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., with more activations planned for 2026.
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