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Since he embarked on the Barnes & Noble redesign in 2020, Mr. Daunt has demonstrated that consistency doesn’t rank very high on his priority list. New York City

Since he embarked on the Barnes & Noble redesign in 2020, Mr. Daunt has demonstrated that consistency doesn’t rank very high on his priority list. New York City has nine Barnes & Noble stores featuring four different logos above the front doors. A lot of brands benefit from uniformity, knowing that your coffee or burger at Starbucks/McDonalds/wherever is functionally the same in Tokyo or Toronto. I think book stores and other "cultural spaces" might not benefit from this, and the more local flavor, the better. So, this lack of consistency might be more deliberate than it seems. (As an aside, I dislike the uniformity of global brands and my favorite chain locations were ones unique to the location. This Costa Coffee in Sopot, Poland, being one of the more interesting examples: https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g274735-d8041313-i317138980-Costa_Coffee-Sopot_Pomerania_Province_Northern_Poland.html https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g274735-...)

NoboruWataya 3y ago
If nothing else, uniformity doesn't add as much value to a brand that isn't selling its own product. Nobody really worries that the copy of a book they buy in one shop will be different to a copy bought in another. There are likely some benefits to consistency, like a familiar store layout or knowing that a shop will stock a good range of books, but these are kind of ancillary to the product (and my experience is that these things aren't that consistent across big chains anyway). There is a great book shop in Dublin, Ireland called Hodges Figgis. It was bought by the UK chain Waterstones in 2011, but you wouldn't know it - they wisely decided not to interfere at all with such a locally beloved brand.
- rsynnott 3y ago
  > There is a great book shop in Dublin, Ireland called Hodges Figgis. It was bought by the UK chain Waterstones in 2011, but you wouldn't know it - they wisely decided not to interfere at all with such a locally beloved brand. In a sign that this works, there used to be a few actual Waterstones branches in Dublin, too, but they didn't survive the general decline in the bookselling industry. I think Waterstones also own a couple of formerly independent shops in London where they've left the branding and operations alone, for similar reasons. (From the article, the new Barnes and Noble chief exec previously ran Waterstones.)
- tonyedgecombe 3y ago
  They bought Blackwells in Oxford fairly recently. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't change too much. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/feb/28/waterstones-acquires-blackwells-the-uks-biggest-independent-bookseller https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/feb/28/waterstones-ac...
- FormerBandmate 3y ago
  The owners of Waterstones took over Barnes and Noble and put Waterstones management in charge. Seems to have worked
- philipwhiuk 3y ago
  The Southwold Waterstones was controversial when it opened: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/27/waterstones-chief-defends-decision-to-open-unbranded-stores https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/27/waterstones-ch...
- BenFeldman1930 3y ago
  Same with Hatchards (close to Waterstones' Picadilly shoppe).
gosub100 3y ago
So they're indistinguishable from a local business other than having corporate amounts of capital to weather storms, policies to control workers and inventory (what books to stock), and they send their profits out of the community. Neat
- NoboruWataya 3y ago
  A bookshop able to weather a storm? The horror!
- throwaway290 3y ago
  That's why you gotta always learn what is run/made by whom. The logo is irrelevant...
- bko 3y ago
  > weather storms This is good. Means they're less likely to be impacted by temporary fads and I can count on them being around in a decade > Policies to control workers and inventory Policies are good and usually law abiding. Meaning that they treat their employees fairly, pay taxes and obey labor laws or they'll get sued. > send their profits out of the community The main beneficiaries are the patrons and people working there, who are as likely to live in the community than a mom and pop shop. The profit margin, if any, accrues to stock holders which are widely distributed to people with 401ks pensions and others. I'm okay with that
  - gosub100 3y ago
    > Meaning that they treat their employees fairly The existence of a policy doesn't make it fair, in fact the reason I abhor 1-size-fits-all policies is because of places like Amazon warehouses where you're fired for being late X times ("sorry, it's policy, my hands are tied :( ). Corporate policies are there to protect the company from lawsuits, and as a consequence they erode the agency of individuals which is literally dehumanizing. It's one step away from a human and one toward a robot. people should be treated like humans.
    - 3y ago
tootie 3y ago
My neighborhood in Brooklyn had our B&N move a few blocks and open in a new space. The new space is very different and very inviting. Bright lights, comfy chairs, lighter colors everywhere. I think it's less square footage but feels easier to get lost in (in a good way).

NoboruWataya 3y ago

If nothing else, uniformity doesn't add as much value to a brand that isn't selling its own product. Nobody really worries that the copy of a book they buy in one shop will be different to a copy bought in another. There are likely some benefits to consistency, like a familiar store layout or knowing that a shop will stock a good range of books, but these are kind of ancillary to the product (and my experience is that these things aren't that consistent across big chains anyway). There is a great book shop in Dublin, Ireland called Hodges Figgis. It was bought by the UK chain Waterstones in 2011, but you wouldn't know it - they wisely decided not to interfere at all with such a locally beloved brand.

rsynnott 3y ago
> There is a great book shop in Dublin, Ireland called Hodges Figgis. It was bought by the UK chain Waterstones in 2011, but you wouldn't know it - they wisely decided not to interfere at all with such a locally beloved brand. In a sign that this works, there used to be a few actual Waterstones branches in Dublin, too, but they didn't survive the general decline in the bookselling industry. I think Waterstones also own a couple of formerly independent shops in London where they've left the branding and operations alone, for similar reasons. (From the article, the new Barnes and Noble chief exec previously ran Waterstones.)
tonyedgecombe 3y ago
They bought Blackwells in Oxford fairly recently. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't change too much. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/feb/28/waterstones-acquires-blackwells-the-uks-biggest-independent-bookseller https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/feb/28/waterstones-ac...
FormerBandmate 3y ago
The owners of Waterstones took over Barnes and Noble and put Waterstones management in charge. Seems to have worked
philipwhiuk 3y ago
The Southwold Waterstones was controversial when it opened: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/27/waterstones-chief-defends-decision-to-open-unbranded-stores https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/27/waterstones-ch...
BenFeldman1930 3y ago
Same with Hatchards (close to Waterstones' Picadilly shoppe).

gosub100 3y ago

So they're indistinguishable from a local business other than having corporate amounts of capital to weather storms, policies to control workers and inventory (what books to stock), and they send their profits out of the community. Neat

NoboruWataya 3y ago
A bookshop able to weather a storm? The horror!
throwaway290 3y ago
That's why you gotta always learn what is run/made by whom. The logo is irrelevant...
bko 3y ago
> weather storms This is good. Means they're less likely to be impacted by temporary fads and I can count on them being around in a decade > Policies to control workers and inventory Policies are good and usually law abiding. Meaning that they treat their employees fairly, pay taxes and obey labor laws or they'll get sued. > send their profits out of the community The main beneficiaries are the patrons and people working there, who are as likely to live in the community than a mom and pop shop. The profit margin, if any, accrues to stock holders which are widely distributed to people with 401ks pensions and others. I'm okay with that
- gosub100 3y ago
  > Meaning that they treat their employees fairly The existence of a policy doesn't make it fair, in fact the reason I abhor 1-size-fits-all policies is because of places like Amazon warehouses where you're fired for being late X times ("sorry, it's policy, my hands are tied :( ). Corporate policies are there to protect the company from lawsuits, and as a consequence they erode the agency of individuals which is literally dehumanizing. It's one step away from a human and one toward a robot. people should be treated like humans.
  - 3y ago

tootie 3y ago

My neighborhood in Brooklyn had our B&N move a few blocks and open in a new space. The new space is very different and very inviting. Bright lights, comfy chairs, lighter colors everywhere. I think it's less square footage but feels easier to get lost in (in a good way).