Barnes and Noble 2015 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Our College business continues to outperform expectations, accelerating the rate
of new contract growth during the year. College opened  new stores in fiscal
, representing annual sales of  million. This compares with  store
openings with annual sales of  million last year. The pipeline is robust: As of
mid-June , College had been awarded  contracts for stores to be opened
in fiscal , with total estimated first-year annual sales of  million. Total
sales for  increased . over the prior year, and would have increased
. year-over-year excluding the additional sales week last year. College sales
benefitted from improving comparable store sales trends, which increased .
for the year.
The turnaround at NOOK is the result of a strategic shift from hardware to
content-focused activities, and is reflected in improved margin and lower
expenses, as content has become the focus of our NOOK sales mix. In addition
to building on our partnership with Samsung to produce NOOK co-branded
devices, we will further sharpen our focus on rationalizing NOOK’s cost structure
while also integrating its valuable content offering with our Retail business.
In closing, I want to thank our Chief Executive Officer, Mike Huseby, for his
leadership in much of what we have accomplished this year. I am delighted
that Mike has accepted the new role of Executive Chairman of Barnes & Noble
Education. I’m confident he will be a positive force in driving that business
forward. I also want to thank our thousands of dedicated booksellers for delivering
to our customers an experience that is unrivalled in our industry and the
cornerstone of the Barnes & Noble brand promise.
Sincerely,
Leonard Riggio
2015 Annual Report 3