Barnes and Noble 2010 Annual Report Download - page 12

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most advanced eBook reader, that features groundbreaking
lending technology, a color touchscreen and lets readers
download books in seconds.
As a result of this reach, the Company believes that the
website provides significant advertising power which
would be valued in the tens of millions of dollars if such
advertising were placed with third-party websites with
comparable reach. In this way, Barnes & Noble.com serves
as both the Company’s direct-to-home delivery service and
as an important broadcast channel and advertising medium
for the Barnes & Noble brand. For example, the online
store locator at Barnes & Noble.com receives millions of
customer visits each year providing store hours, direc-
tions, information about author events and other in-store
activities. Similarly, in Barnes & Noble stores, NOOK™
customers can access free Wi-Fi connectivity; enjoy the
“Read In Store” feature to browse many complete eBooks
for free, and the “More In Store” program, which offers
free, exclusive content and special promotions.
The Company’s multi-channel marketing strategy enables
it to have consistent cross-channel promotions which are
primarily communicated via email. In addition, Barnes
& Noble.com is an important component in the Barnes &
Noble Member Program.
Fictionwise
On March 4, 2009, the Company acquired Fictionwise,
Inc. (Fictionwise), a leader in the eBook marketplace. The
acquisition provided a core component to the Company’s
overall digital strategy, enabling the launch of one of the
world’s largest eBookstores on July 20, 2009. The eBook-
store on Barnes & Noble.com enables customers to buy
eBooks and read them on a wide range of platforms, includ-
ing NOOK™, the Company’s eBook reader, iPhone® and
iPod touch®, BlackBerry® and Motorola™ smartphones, as
well as most laptops or full-sized desktop computers.
Tikatok
On September 24, 2009, the Company acquired the assets
of Tikatok Inc. (Tikatok). Tikatok is an online platform
where parents and their children and others can write,
illustrate, and publish stories into hardcover and paper-
back books. On its website, Tikatok makes available, among
other things, its patent-pending StorySparks™ system,
which helps to walk children through the process of creat-
ing and writing stories and expands the Company’s reach to
additional parents, educators and librarians.
Sterling Publishing
The Company’s subsidiary Sterling Publishing is a lead-
ing publisher of non-fiction trade titles. Founded in
1949, Sterling publishes a wide range of non-fiction and
illustrated books and kits across a variety of imprints, in
categories such as health & wellness, music & popular
culture, food & wine, crafts & photography, puzzles & games
and history & current affairs, as well as a large and growing
presence in children’s books. In addition, there are over
500 titles in the Barnes & Noble Classics and its Library of
Essential Reading series. Sterling also recently introduced
ecosystem — a comprehensive assortment of hard — and
flexi-cover notebooks, journals and planners. Ecosystem
products are 100% made in the USA from 100% recycled
paper.
Sterling’s mission is to publish high-quality books that
educate, entertain, and enrich the lives of its readers, who
deserve the best quality, content and design. Among its
best-selling titles are Paul McKenna’s I Can Make You Thin,
Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Complete Wine Course,
Peter Yarrow & Lenny Lipton’s Puff, the Magic Dragon, Terry
Walters’s Clean Food, and Cosmopolitan Magazine’s The
Cosmo Kama Sutra.
B&N COLLEGE
On September 30, 2009, the Company acquired B&N
College, one of the largest contract operators of bookstores
on college and university campuses across the United
States. In addition to the bookstores, B&N College oper-
ates a corporate website, www.bncollege.com. As of May
1, 2010, College operated 637 stores nationwide serving
nearly four million students and faculty members. The
company’s customer base, which is mainly comprised of
students and faculty, can purchase various items from their
campus stores, including textbooks and course-related
materials, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books,
eReaders, school and dorm supplies, and convenience and
café items. B&N College sells new and used textbooks in
campus bookstores and online. In fiscal 2011, B&N College
will offer a textbook rental option to its customers, as well
as electronic textbooks and other course materials through
a proprietary digital platform. B&N College offers its cus-
tomers a full suite of textbook options: new, used, digital
and rental.
B&N College operates 616 traditional college bookstores
and 21 academic superstores, which are generally larger
in size, offer cafés and provide a sense of community that
engages the surrounding campus and local communities in
10 Barnes & Noble, Inc. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS continued