7 March 2022
Despite a slow December due to the omicron surge, 2021 was "another year of solid growth" at Barnes & Noble, according to CEO James Daunt, who spoke with PW from a hotel in Stamford, Ct., where he was on the final leg of a national tour to meet with store managers. Daunt, with the financial backing of Elliott Advisors, took over B&N in September 2019. He said sales in the first eight months of 2021 were running 5% to 6% above 2019 levels, and November was very strong, but then Covid infection rates started to spike again. (The interview took place February 28, the day it was announced the Elliott/Daunt team had acquired the U.K. chain Blackwell's.)
