I know nearly as many people with a color Nook as I do that own a Kindle. But I know probably three times as many people that own an iPad.
The economics of their operations was a common thread in the #1 answer:
* costly rent
* costly operations
* slow restocking
I guess you know so many Borders locations because they picked great locations in expensive malls. That's not a great way to run a glorified distribution centre.
I actually know more people with Nooks than with Kindles. Most of them have color Nooks and most use them to read books and boot into Android to get a cheap, color, wifi-enabled tablet.
See my post below. I don't think it was just behind the scenes "operations" stuff but mostly had to do with "finance" ... Bill Ackman's hedge fund was involved.
Re:Why did Borders Tank and B&N not?
by xiongchiamiov on Sunday February 20, 2011 @03:40AM
(#2241433)
I own a Nook. I don't know anyone with a Kindle, and one person with an iPad.
I'm a 4th-year Software Engineering student at a pretty Linux-heavy university.
Re:Why did Borders Tank and B&N not?
by xiongchiamiov on Tuesday February 22, 2011 @03:41AM
(#2249225)
1. How many people do you know that bought a Nook?
2. [reply with numbers and context]
3. [downvoted]
My experience is exactly the opposite to what most people are saying. I know of plenty of Borders locations, and almost no Barnes & Noble location. Borders stores are always excellent - well stocked, pleasant atmosphere, etc. The checkout lines are always full, people browse for hours and buy a ton of stuff.
I suspect the problems have much more to do with the economics of running their operations which you can't see with a naked eye. Their customer experience is top notch - they just couldn't do it in a scalable way long term.
BTW, what exactly is Barnes & Noble's eBook strategy? How many people do you know that bought a Nook?