Once upon a time, Barnes & Noble was headed straight for the retail Hall of Shame, right next to RadioShack and those weird photo development kiosks in parking lots (remember those, or am I just getting old?). It was the kind of place you’d wander into to kill time while waiting for your phone to charge at Starbucks. 

But now, the New York City based company is pulling a full-on Lazarus act, while opening 60 new stores this year. It’s an interesting move, especially in a world where you can buy books (and, let’s be honest, pretty much anything else) with two clicks on Amazon. The master plan includes TikTok, a revamped business model, and a bit of old-school charm.

A few years ago, Barnes & Noble was like a faded concert t-shirt from your favorite 90s band—still around, but barely holding on, and definitely not cool anymore. The rise of Amazon had turned its massive stores into ghost towns, and it felt like the only thing keeping it alive was nostalgia. Enter James Daunt, CEO and self-proclaimed “bookseller,” in 2018. Daunt took a radical approach: he let individual stores chart their own course.

Instead of forcing every store to follow some bland, corporate-approved template, managers were given the freedom to curate their shelves based on what locals actually want to read. Think of it as Barnes & Noble going from a chain restaurant to a local diner, where the waiter knows your order before you sit down. This indie-style strategy has breathed new life into the business.

Here's the thing: While Amazon's algorithm thinks you want to read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" because you once bought a calculator, B&N's got actual humans who might suggest something you'll actually enjoy. Revolutionary, right? 

And then there’s TikTok, or more specifically, the phenomenon known as #BookTok. If you thought TikTok was just for awkward dances and pasta recipes, think again. #BookTok is like a digital Oprah’s Book Club but with better lighting and way more emotional breakdowns.

Barnes & Noble embraced this trend faster than every little kid embraced “the griddy.” Walk into any store, and you’ll find a dedicated BookTok table featuring the latest “must-reads” according to TikTok influencers. We’re talking about spicy romances, tear-jerking fantasies, and thrillers that make you double-check your locks at night.

Shannon DeVito, B&N’s head of books, summed it up: “BookTok has reignited the excitement around reading.” Stores are hosting midnight releases and themed events that turn shopping into a social experience. One BookTok influencer compared a trip to Barnes & Noble to a visit to Disneyland (minus the churros and hefty credit card bill, but with way better stories).

Despite all the book nerds excitement, investors still aren’t turning the page. The company's financials haven't exactly soared (down 93% YTD), perhaps because investors are waiting for more proof that Barnes & Noble can sustain this momentum. Sure, foot traffic is up 7% since 2019, and sales are improving, but this comeback story still has a few chapters left to write.

Daunt, however, is playing the long game. “The problem with Barnes & Noble when I took over was that the bookstores weren’t very good,” he admitted. Harsh but fair. Now, with a renewed focus on customer experience and a younger, TikTok-obsessed audience, B&N is banking on the idea that people still crave the joy of flipping through physical pages.

This whole strategy hinges on Barnes & Noble’s staff. Empowering local managers to curate their own stores is a big trust exercise. It’s like letting each Starbucks barista design their own menu (risky but potentially brilliant). The success of this independent bookstore approach depends on whether the company’s staff can rise to the occasion.

So, is Barnes & Noble’s comeback legit? The early signs are promising. Sales are improving, foot traffic is up, and TikTok has turned the brand into a cultural touchstone for Gen Z and millennials. But the real test will be whether this new model (and the staff driving it) can “Make Reading Great Again.”

If Daunt’s strategy works, Barnes & Noble won’t just be a bookstore chain making a comeback. It’ll be a case study in how investing in your people and leaning into cultural trends can revive even the most “doomed” of businesses. And that, dear reader, is a plot twist we can all root for.

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Stock.News has positions in Barnes and Noble, Disney, Amazon, and Starbucks mentioned in article.