Business & Tech

Barnes & Noble To Close Stores: Would You Miss the Gilroy Store?

Company announces it'll shut down 20 stores a year over the next decade.

Do you shop at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Gilroy?  The Barnes and Noble in Gilroy is located in the Gilroy Crossing Plaza.

Apparently not enough people are shopping at some Barnes and Noble stores.

Company executives told the Wall Street Journal they plan to close 20 stores a year over the next decade.

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No specific stores have been targeted yet for closure.

If no new stores were opened, that would reduce the number of Barnes & Noble stores nationwide by a third, the Huffington Post reported.

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Since 2003, the company has been closing 15 stores a year, but they've also been opening more than 30 a year.

Last year, however, Barnes & Noble closed 14 stores and didn't open any, the Huffington Post reported.

One reason is a steady decline in book sales. Print book sales have decreased 22 percent over the past five years, according to Nielsen BookScan.

If your Barnes & Noble closed, would you miss it? How can bookstores compete more effectively in this electronic age? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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