Barnes and Noble 2015 Annual Report Download - page 41

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(Thousands of dollars, except per share data)
For the  weeks ended May ,  (fiscal ),  weeks
ended May ,  (fiscal ) and  weeks ended April
,  (fiscal ).
1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING
POLICIES
Business
Barnes & Noble, one of the nation’s largest booksellers,
is a leading content, commerce and technology company
providing customers easy and convenient access to trade
books, textbooks, magazines, newspapers and other
content across its multi-channel distribution platform.
As of May , , the Company operated , bookstores
in  states, including  bookstores on college cam-
puses, operates one of the Web’s largest eCommerce sites,
develops digital reading products and operates one of the
largest digital bookstores. Given the dynamic nature of the
book industry, the challenges faced by traditional book-
sellers, and the robust innovation pipeline fueling new
opportunities in hardware, software and content creation
and delivery, Barnes & Noble is utilizing the strength of its
retail footprint to bolster its leadership in selling content to
drive sales across its multiple channels.
Of the , bookstores, Barnes & Noble Retail (B&N Retail)
operates  retail bookstores, primarily under the Barnes &
Noble Booksellers® trade name, and includes the Company’s
eCommerce site. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC
(B&N College) operates  college bookstores at colleges
and universities across the United States, of which  stores
are co-branded with the universities’ names and Barnes &
Noble name. B&N Retail also includes Sterling Publishing
Co., Inc. (Sterling or Sterling Publishing), a leader in general
trade book publishing. The NOOK segment represents the
Company’s digital business, offering digital books and maga-
zines for sale and consumption online, NOOK® reading
devices, co-branded NOOK® tablets and reading software for
iOS, Android and Windows .
The Company’s principal business is the sale of trade books
(generally hardcover and paperback consumer titles), mass
market paperbacks (such as mystery, romance, science
fiction and other popular fiction), children’s books, eBooks
and other digital content, textbooks and course-related
materials, NOOK® and related accessories, bargain books,
magazines, gifts, emblematic apparel and gifts, school and
dorm supplies, café products and services, educational toys
& games, music and movies direct to customers through
its bookstores or on barnesandnoble.com. The Company
also offers a textbook rental option to its customers, as well
as digital textbooks and other course materials through a
proprietary digital platform (Yuzu™). The Company offers
its customers a full suite of textbook options — new, used,
digital and rental.
The Company identifies its operating segments based on
the way the business is managed (focusing on the financial
information distributed) and the manner in which the chief
operating decision maker interacts with other members of
management. The Company has three operating segments:
B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK.
Separation of B&N Education, Inc.
On February , , Barnes & Noble announced plans
for the legal and structural separation of Barnes & Noble
Education, Inc. (Barnes & Noble Education or B&N
Education) (formerly known as NOOK Media Inc.) from
Barnes & Noble into an independent public company (the
Spin-Off).
This Spin-Off is expected to be executed by means of a
pro-rata distribution of B&N Education’s common stock
to Barnes & Noble’s existing shareholders and is expected
to be a non-taxable event for Barnes & Noble and its
shareholders.
The distribution of B&N Education’s common stock to
Barnes & Noble shareholders is conditioned on, among
other things, final approval of the Spin-Off plan by the
Barnes & Noble Board of Directors; the receipt of opinions
from external legal counsel and KPMG LLP to Barnes &
Noble, confirming the tax-free status of the Spin-Off for
U.S. federal income tax purposes; and the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declaring
effective the Registration Statement, which was filed on
a Registration Statement on Form S- with the SEC on
February , , which has been amended on April ,
 and June , .
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
3 Based upon sales reported in trade publications and public filings.
4 Any reference to NOOK® include the Company’s Samsung Galaxy
Tab® 4 NOOK® 7.0 and 10.1 devices and NOOK GlowLightTM, and each
of which includes the trademark symbol (® or ™, as applicable) even if
a trademark symbol is not included.
2015 Annual Report 39