James Daunt: Reviving Barnes & Noble & the Book Industry

James Daunt is revitalizing Barnes & Noble and Waterstones, facing Amazon's dominance. He focuses on store aesthetics, local teams, and fighting censorship to boost book sales and community engagement.

On a wall near Daunt’s workdesk is a huge map of the US with dark yellow pins stuck into it, noting all the locations where Barnes & Noble presently operates stores in this huge nation. Both Waterstones and B&N, under Daunt’s leadership and the possession of Elliott Advisors, show up to be prospering. Daunt is in America 3 weeks out of every 4, often travelling far from New York to go to shops. Before taking over at Waterstones, Daunt, the child of a mediator, had quickly been a lender, after that started the eponymous London indie chain Daunt Books that currently expands to 6 stores, consisting of one in Oxford, so he “had the benefit of understanding just how book shops run. True, after the Riggio formula obtained old and Amazon loomed over everything and it looked like B&N would certainly fall short, mindsets changed: B&N had to make it through as a barrier against Amazon, and Daunt, who had actually been one of their own, was welcomed.

The US’ indies honestly reveal uncertainty towards Daunt. They remember the poor old 1990s, with the ruthless march of the B&N warehouse store rollout, complied with by the double whammy of Amazon and e-books, and all the individual shops that shuttered. True, after the Riggio formula obtained old and Amazon towered above everything and it appeared like B&N would certainly stop working, perspectives altered: B&N needed to endure as a barrier against Amazon, and Daunt, who had been just one of their own, was welcomed.

Censorship and Libraries

From censorship we segue to libraries. “They matter greater than we do,” Daunt claims, unconditionally. “We feed off interaction with literature, and when you get political leaders who are tinkering libraries, that’s bad. The UK has actually underinvested in town libraries for such a long period of time, it is most dreadful. And after that there are the general public colleges in the US lacking collections. We matter, but they matter a lot more.”.

Daunt’s Bookstore Philosophy

Prior to taking over at Waterstones, Daunt, the kid of a diplomat, had quickly been a lender, after that founded the eponymous London indie chain Daunt Books that currently includes 6 stores, consisting of one in Oxford, so he “had the advantage of understanding how bookstores run. And exactly how you run them entails the very same things, whether it’s here or London or Tokyo or Taipei– the visual aesthetic, having the appropriate books, obtaining the backlist sorted, selling a lot of points that make good sense beside guides, etc. I’m below to compose the cheques that need to be written. Establishing teams within the shops needs a lot of time and investment. In a group, you must frequently ask yourself what you’re doing– it’s your store, besides”.

Daunt recognizes that suppression is occurring both in the United States and Britain. I offer Harris’ publication, and books on the. We market books on Gaza, Palestine, Israel, Zionism.

One of the problems he recognizes in the industry is “the creation of brand-new authors, brand names, and bestsellers. We’ve had an ossified listing of bestsellers. It altered in the UK and we’re in the process of altering it here. The creation of new writers had actually run out. Now, we have Katherine Rundell, a development of physical bookshops, and she is large for us. Or check out Mona’s Eyes [Thomas Schlesser], from Europa”– guide was really visible in the Union Square shop– “that is the job of physical bookshops. I do not believe if we win, [Amazon] shed, but much better bookshops are selling more books”.

Challenges and Opportunities

Daunt is in America three weeks out of every 4, frequently travelling much from New York to go to shops. It’s difficult to run all the stores one means. (After B&N’s amazing owner, Leonard Riggio, tipped back, a multitude of CEOs went and came; decision-making was constantly extremely centralised.).

“If you were to change all the book shops that have actually shut, we would certainly be opening regarding 60 for each of the following 50 years,” he muses. Having simply celebrated his 62nd birthday celebration, he will not be around fairly that long, however considering the large image, no person can reject the excellent he has done. Under the buttoned-up-English-gentleman exterior is a remarkable power and compelling enthusiasm married to clear-sighted organization sense. Daunt, greater than anything, is an evangelist for books, reading and bookselling, and is refrained satisfying his objective right now.

The latter is “much better along in its evolution than B&N; we’re just around four years into it below, as a result of the pandemic, so we are where Waterstones remained in 2015/16, however we’re adhering to a similar trajectory and have made substantial development. If you run a much better store, neighborhoods truly value the location, and you sell extra. We live in a metro bubble and it’s easy to lose sight of just how extraordinary chain stores are. They are very autonomous. All walks of life been available in, and if we do it truly well, it needs to be a source of great satisfaction”.

In the big B&N Union Square mothership, Kamala Harris’ publication signing offered out, so the shop put on a 2nd event, and that sold out, too. For it is the kids’ area “that is the core of any store”, he stresses. A lot has actually been bruited on both sides of the fish pond about a situation in analysis, particularly middle-grade reading, however Daunt takes “a long-term sight.

James Daunt pertained to America in September 2019 to run its biggest book shop chain, Barnes & Noble (B&N), which was smacking and most likely heading towards failure, and to do so while still running the UK’s largest book shop chain, Waterstones, which he was credited with having actually saved from a similar fate after showing up there 8 years earlier. From his light-filled, small corner office at B&N’s extremely slimmed-down, open-plan head office off Union Square in New York City City, Daunt recalls that for the years from 2010 to 2020, B&N opened 25 shops and shut 130.

Intimidate preserves that he is “entirely unenthusiastic in trying to contrast this year’s sales versus last year’s. Yet books will certainly catch up– they always do. Our clients will return. I have actually been teaching caution for a long time, and recognize that on this side, we’ll still offer, however there will certainly be changes in the amount. Our publishing coworkers weep that the political publication is dead, however look at sales of the Kamala Harris publication [107 Days].

Now, with B&N increasing once again, indies grumble that several of the new stores being opened up are sited in areas too close for comfort, targeting business of existing bookstores. Some additionally whine regarding the addition of legendary indies Foyles and Blackwell’s in the UK, and Tattered Cover in the US, to Elliott’s portfolio. Describing the latter, which was in bankruptcy procedures, Daunt says: “It was a catastrophe the stores had actually obtained themselves right into that situation, and so much better that they are right here, instead of disappeared.” Mirroring for a minute with a wry smile, he adds, “I’m trying to nudge all these points along. I’m the nudger.” The smile almost turns into a smile.

“However the stores will continue, because of the nature of the work. I don’t run the companies from the top down; sequence is installed in the monitoring version. We have Zain Mahmood, that ran publications on-line at Waterstones, who came over, and currently runs our publications group right here, and is an exceptionally great bookseller.

As for the owners: “Elliott will certainly market us at some factor– when they offer will certainly be a feature of what the markets are up to, the right minute. They have been really great, and took us with Covid-19 extremely well.

Expansion and Future Plans

The chain runs on a “cluster framework” of 4 or five shops, with people liable for crucial elements. It is all regional, “so if any type of one store has a trouble, they recognize that to go to, and we understand that’s liable. We obtain the great stores to assist the poor ones.

Daunt includes: “Yes, there is a problem with non-fiction sales since the globe is fascinating and truly disruptive now. Life hasn’t relaxed because the last political election, and a substantial component of the audience is secured into present occasions and not buying books in the common quantity.” Tellingly, the newsstand part of B&N’s service “has actually shot up”.

On a wall surface near Daunt’s desk is a huge map of the United States with dark yellow pins stuck into it, noting all the places where Barnes & Noble presently operates stores in this vast nation. Currently, brand-new pins are being added– this year alone, around 60– and the strategy is to proceed to include even more. Both Waterstones and B&N, under Daunt’s management and the possession of Elliott Advisors, appear to be prospering.

When asked concerning the future, provided the level of international and financial unpredictability hanging over us, Intimidate replies: “I’m very, really long in the tooth, and have been with economic crises. As long as we run really good stores, locations of solace and sanctuary, very excellent times are nearly a lot more challenging: all the expenses– home, earnings– go up, however sales go up and down. Now, in the Livingston Shopping Center in New Jersey, all the stores have actually shut other than us.

Queried as to whether it is all romantasy, dream and TikTok driving sales, and if that bubble will rupture, Daunt responds: “You might ask that inquiry every solitary year of my bookselling life. There’s always a bubble about to go pop; authors are constantly sobbing that the globe is concerning to end.