After reporting disappointing Q1 results on Thursday, Barnes & Noble saw its stock price jump on Friday following a new investment by Richard Schottenfeld, the head of an eponymous investment firm that took a 5.58% stake in the book chain in July. Schottenfeld, who oversees the New York City-based Schottenfeld Management Corp., increased his holding in B&N to 6.9% this week.
According to the filing, Schottenfeld believes that shares in the book retailer are undervalued and he expects to discuss with B&N CEO Len Riggio about various possibilities for the company, including a sale and a change in executive leadership.
The filing also states that Schottenfeld sees "clear opportunities for immediate operational improvements, including: an increased emphasis on, and improved assortment of, toys and games for the upcoming holiday season...a reallocation of shelf space and square footage away from unproductive music and DVD sales and towards higher margin, higher sales-per-square-foot product categories...and [the ability to extract] higher value from the company’s nearly 600 cafés."
Schottenfeld, the filing goes on to note, was encouraged by the recent news that B&N considered selling the company earlier this summer. (This information was disclosed in the recent lawsuit that B&N's former CEO, Demos Parneros, filed against the company for defamation of character.)
The filing states that Schottenfeld will "review their investment in the Company on a continuing basis."
