Barnes & Noble thinking beyond books

Barnes & Noble’s new CEO Ron Boire, who took the reins of the company in September, wants to transform the chain into a “lifestyle brand” by expanding its selection of toys, games, gadgets and other gifts, according to a report in The New York Times.

The newspaper quoted Boire as sayingthat“Everything we do around learning, personal growth and development fits our brand. There’s a lot of opportunity.”

Meanwhile Barnes & Noble reported disappointing results for its second quarter on Thursday but sounded a positive note about holiday sales.

The company posted a wider-than-expected loss of $39.2 million, or 52 cents per share, for the quarter ended October 31, compared to a profit of $12.3 million, or 12 cents per share, a year ago.

Losses, adjusted to account for discontinued operations and severance costs related to the spinoff of its college bookstore division, were 28 cents per share.

Revenue dropped 4.5% to $894.7 million. The company attributed the decline to lower online sales, store closures, and a 1% decline in same-store sales. Also, sales of Nook e-readers plunged 32% to $43.5 million on lower content sales.

Third-quarter same-store sales through the Black Friday weekend edged up 1.1%

“This holiday season, Barnes & Noble executed large-scale, nationwide events to create excitement and drive traffic to our stores,” said Boire. “Barnes & Noble’s buyers and merchants have curated an outstanding selection of books, toys and games and gifts, and our booksellers are prepared to help customers find the perfect gift for everyone on their holiday shopping list.”

For fiscal year 2016, the company continues to expect comparable store sales to be approximately flat with the prior year. Excluding Nook products, comparable store sales are expected to increase approximately 1%. The Company also expects full fiscal year EBITDA losses in the NOOK segment to decline versus the prior year.