Barnes & Noble nearly collapsed after Amazon's Kindle and its failed $1 billion Nook e-reader. The chain survived by rebranding as an anti-Amazon retailer with locally curated inventory, then got a boost from TikTok's book-loving community.
Amazon was this close to killing Barnes Noble, but now Barnes Noble's on a crazy comeback, opening new stores all over America. How did they do it? Let's head back to 2011. In the back then, the bookstore industry is in shambles. Why? Because of Amazon. Amazon launches the Kindle, making e-readers suddenly popular and making physical books, well, seemingly obsolete. Borders, the number 2 bookstore chain in America, they go bankrupt almost overnight, and suddenly everyone thinks Barnes Noble would be next. And so in a desperate move, Barnes Noble tries to compete by spending over $1 billion on their own e-reader, the Nook. It flops spectacularly, but they pivot and start filling stores with puzzles, board games, toys, well, anything to survive. But nothing is working. They're closing stores all over the place and things look absolutely hopeless. So Barnes Noble tries something totally crazy and revolutionary. They decide to turn into the anti-Amazon. Every location gets tailored to the local community and they stock the stores with books that the locals actually want to read. Then TikTok catches on and book lovers online start going nuts for old-fashioned bookstores like Barnes Noble. And Barnes Noble, well, they're back. You want to hear the full story? Check out the video below.
