In a conference call Tuesday morning discussing results for the second quarter ended October 28, Barnes & Noble executives said they plan to open 10 to 15 new stores in calendar 2019. The move will be, by far, the chain's most aggressive store opening schedule in years.
In addition to the stores planned for 2019, Carl Hauch, v-p of stores for B&N, said earlier this week that the company opened up a new outlet in Staten Island that marks the fourth new concept store from the retailer.
Hauch said the new concept stores are all designed slightly differently, to allow B&N executives to see which designs works best. He added that the stores planned for 2019 will be opened in both new areas and those where B&N has existing locations. He estimated that roughly one-quarter of the 2019 stores be in new locations.
To illustrate his point about opening in new locations next year, Hauch said a recent concept store, in Columbia, Md., was opened in a city which B&N had not previously served. While the newly opened stores are running in the range of 17,000 sq. ft. to 20,000 sq. ft., the stores planned for 2019 are more likely to have a 14,000 sq. ft. footprint.
