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Another chapter in the battle to save physical bookstores
UK chain Waterstones adds Blackwell's to Barnes & Noble purchase to build critical mass against Amazon
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Ian Johnston
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At the outset of the pandemic, Mr James Daunt instructed managers at United States chain Barnes & Noble to take every book off their shelves, "weed out the rubbish", make each section flow and put their stores back together again.
The overhaul is a strategy that the managing director of Waterstones, the chain's owner, has deployed many times over the past decade. It is one he may well turn to again at Blackwell's, the 143-year-old bookseller acquired by the United Kingdom retailer last month, backed by its hedge fund owner Elliott Advisors.
