Barnes and Noble new stores

[Brian Lutz]

I never went to the Barnes & Noble in Sandy while it was open, and I believe that it closed some time in early 2023. The store was located next to the Super Target off State Street in a center that had the B&N, an Old Navy, a Buy Buy Baby and some sort of "ninja warrior" gym place, although I suspect most people went there for the Target and nothing else. Access into and out of that shopping center could also be a pain if you were coming from the north on State Street.

The former BB&B location is on the other side of the street in a center that's likely a much better fit for Barnes and Noble than the old location, with a lot more potential for cross shopping (other major tenants in the center include PetSmart, PGA Tour Superstore, Nordstrom Rack, Burlington, DSW Shoes, Tilly's, a bowling alley/FEC and quite a few different restaurants in the outbuildings along State Street.) It's also directly across from The Shops at South Town and near one of the busiest intersections in Sandy (State Street and 10600 S) so they'll likely do well in the new spot. Meanwhile, Marshall's is taking over their former space next to the Target.

[ClownLoach]

I never went to the Barnes & Noble in Sandy while it was open, and I believe that it closed some time in early 2023. The store was located next to the Super Target off State Street in a center that had the B&N, an Old Navy, a Buy Buy Baby and some sort of "ninja warrior" gym place, although I suspect most people went there for the Target and nothing else. Access into and out of that shopping center could also be a pain if you were coming from the north on State Street.

The former BB&B location is on the other side of the street in a center that's likely a much better fit for Barnes and Noble than the old location, with a lot more potential for cross shopping (other major tenants in the center include PetSmart, PGA Tour Superstore, Nordstrom Rack, Burlington, DSW Shoes, Tilly's, a bowling alley/FEC and quite a few different restaurants in the outbuildings along State Street.) It's also directly across from The Shops at South Town and near one of the busiest intersections in Sandy (State Street and 10600 S) so they'll likely do well in the new spot. Meanwhile, Marshall's is taking over their former space next to the Target.

I don't believe that these bookstores receive traditional trucks because most of the books are coming through different distributors. So as a result they get large loads of boxes daily through UPS and FedEx along with an occasional LTL pallet or two. So a big box like a Bed Bath and Beyond is probably very ideal. They can split it in half and give the side with the receiving dock to the other tenant, while keeping the half with just a ground level door to receive freight. Since they don't need the dock they are much more likely to be successful in subleasing than other retailers. This may help with this new expansion campaign they are on. I can even think of a few Barnes and Noble stores with no loading dock at all that get all their shipments through the front door.

Those Ninja Warrior gyms are taking over some BB&B and former TRU units in Orange County right now.

[buckguy]

I never went to the Barnes & Noble in Sandy while it was open, and I believe that it closed some time in early 2023. The store was located next to the Super Target off State Street in a center that had the B&N, an Old Navy, a Buy Buy Baby and some sort of "ninja warrior" gym place, although I suspect most people went there for the Target and nothing else. Access into and out of that shopping center could also be a pain if you were coming from the north on State Street.

The former BB&B location is on the other side of the street in a center that's likely a much better fit for Barnes and Noble than the old location, with a lot more potential for cross shopping (other major tenants in the center include PetSmart, PGA Tour Superstore, Nordstrom Rack, Burlington, DSW Shoes, Tilly's, a bowling alley/FEC and quite a few different restaurants in the outbuildings along State Street.) It's also directly across from The Shops at South Town and near one of the busiest intersections in Sandy (State Street and 10600 S) so they'll likely do well in the new spot. Meanwhile, Marshall's is taking over their former space next to the Target.

I don't believe that these bookstores receive traditional trucks because most of the books are coming through different distributors. So as a result they get large loads of boxes daily through UPS and FedEx along with an occasional LTL pallet or two. So a big box like a Bed Bath and Beyond is probably very ideal. They can split it in half and give the side with the receiving dock to the other tenant, while keeping the half with just a ground level door to receive freight. Since they don't need the dock they are much more likely to be successful in subleasing than other retailers. This may help with this new expansion campaign they are on. I can even think of a few Barnes and Noble stores with no loading dock at all that get all their shipments through the front door.

Those Ninja Warrior gyms are taking over some BB&B and former TRU units in Orange County right now.

Books have a variety of different distribution sources, while special orders may come through mail or package delivery. Small publishers usually work through specialty distributors. The distributor for some of the small presses recently closed due to the owners' retirements. Most large metro areas usually had one or two newsstand distributors who handled magazines, newspapers and various kinds of paperbacks. I would imagine that those have consolidated over time.

If B&N receives anything on a pallet it would be their seasonal non-book items.

As for real estate---B&N is going back to a store they once occupied in Georgetown. They left in 2011 as they were well into closing mode and Nike held the lease until last year. Georgetown was hard hit with COVID closures and its a relatively large space, so I'm guessing they got a decent price, even though the vacancies nearby have been filling up rapidly. They have been rumored to be considering a move back to downtown Bethesda, where they lasted until 2018. That store did a good volume up until the end but was in what I would have expected to be an expensive corner location.

the cafes have always seemed inconsistent---downtown Bethesda was always busy and probably a good traffic driver (it was on the top floor). Many of the single story suburban shopping center stores never seemed very busy.

[Brian Lutz]

Another factor to consider is that the Barnes & Noble stores now sell a much larger amount of non book merchandise than they used to. At the Greensboro (Friendly Center) store I've visited I'd say at least 1/3 of the store is now occupied with toys, games and other non book merchandise (for example, there are now a significant amount of LEGO sets on the shelves, as well as a significant number of jigsaw puzzles.) it's likely much of that merchandise would still be palletized in shipping.

[FrankMoore99]

What does this article mean. I couldn't read it because I am too cheap to get a subscription for a newspaper for a place I don't live at. https://www.columbian.com/news/2024/may ... nes-noble/

Are they closing that store, and moving to a different location?? Or is that not what that article is at all?? I couldn't find any other information about it. Where's the new Murray, Utah store that Barnes and Noble is planning on opening this year??