Barnes & Noble's education unit has big digital plans

Just in time for back-to-school season, Barnes & Noble's college bookstore division, which just separated from the the larger books and games retailer, is looking to acquire digital services to speed its growth.

Michael Huseby, former CEO of Barnes & Noble and now executive chairman of Barnes & Noble Education, told Bloomberg that the company is committed to driving growth by expanding its offering of online services.



Barnes & Noble Education Inc. is now an independent public company and the parent of Barnes & Noble College, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, “BNED.” As previously announced, Ronald D. Boire will take over as CEO of Barnes & Noble Inc. effective Sept. 8.



“This is an exciting day in the history of Barnes & Noble College,” said Max J. Roberts, CEO, Barnes & Noble Education. “We are an industry leader with campus stores serving colleges and universities and more than 5 million students and their faculty across the country. As a separate public company, we believe we are well positioned to take advantage of future growth opportunities and enhance our services for our current and future customers.”



The BN education business currently has 724 stores on college campuses and sells both traditional textbooks and digital educational content.