History Of The Barnes & Noble Company Essay Sample

Barnes & Noble is the largest retail company located in the United States with its primary activities of supplying books in the entire United States bookshops and colleges. The company started back in the year 1886 with its first bookstore called Arthur Hinds & Company, which was in the New York City. The company didn’t go for long before its fall, and its name changed to Hinds & Noble after Gilbert Clifford Noble became a partner. Clifford Noble bought out his partner Hinds in 1997 and got into a partnership with William Barnes, who was his old Friend’s son Charles the name was then changed to Barnes & Noble. William Barnes had diverted from his father’s business of printing books out of his interest to go and become Noble’s partner.In 1930 Noble sold his share to William Barnes' son, John Wilcox Barnes and Noble later died at the age of 72 in the year 1936. Noble family retained the ownership of the associated publishing business but alongside that Barnes & Noble opened a new publishing business in the year 1931.It became one of the first businesses to feature Muzak; William Barnes son john Wilcox got the full control of the business when his father died in 1945 who was by then at the age of 78. The business continued well with much progress witnessed in the company. Moreover, it underwent favorable expansion in the subsequent years by opening an additional retail store on in Manhattan and shops near major City University of New York and college campuses. In the year 1971, the business was poorly managed and was, therefore, sold to Leonard Riggio as the benefits were continuously decreasing.
Leonard reconstructed the business and with few years the industry reported some benefits. He opened various wholesale operation and single retail stores which brought in significant profit to the business. In 1974, Barnes & Noble Company started to advertise bookstore in the television that promoted the company to become the first company to sell books in the America on discount especially by selling The New York Times. The company later opened small discount store and which grew to the larger store that could publish their books and sell to their customers. By the year 1974 according to British twin brothers Norris McWhirter and Ross McWhirter, the company was said to be very competitive as it had overtaken most of the London booksellers to become the best in the world.
Barnes & Noble Company was selling its product directly to its customers through the mail orders, but things changed when it created a website, and they started to sell its products to the customer online. As a result, they increased the customer coverage and therefore had a lot of sales and Leonard Riggio’s brother became the CEO of the company. The CEO played a significant role in helping the launch of the company's electronic bookshops and also the introduction of its electronic book reader, which was the Nook. A series of mergers followed this, and most of the American bookstore industries were going bankruptcy. Although the company faces little competition from general retailers, it has up to now continued to enjoy the advantage of being the last remaining bookstore in the America. It has led to bankruptcy and subsequent closure of its immediate competitors. Thus far, the company has become the world best bookselling company in the United States.