Cully Leaves B&N for Lechters

Dec 20, 1999

News
Cully Leaves B&N for Lechters -- 12/20/99 David Cully, v-p, general merchandise manager, Barnes & Noble Retail Stores, and president of Barnes & Noble Distribution, has left the company to become president and chief operating officer at Lechters, one of the country's largest retail houseware chains. No one had been named to replace Cully at press time. In financial news, Barnes & Noble's quarterly filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission shows that sales at the company's B. Dalton stores fell 10.4% in the third quarter ended October 30, 1999, to $88 million. The company attributed the decline to the closing of 65 Dalton outlets over the last year as well as to an 0.8% drop in comparable store sales. Earlier this year, B&N reported that total revenues rose 9% to $715.9 million (News, Nov. 22). Dalton represented 12.3% of B&N revenues in the quarter compared to 14.9% in the third quarter of fiscal 1999. During the quarter, four Daltons were closed, leaving the mall-based chain with 444 stores at the end of October, compared to 528 superstores. For the nine-month period, sales at Dalton were down 8.5% to $272 million, with sames -store sales off 0.4%. Dalton contributed 12.6% of year-to-date total sales, compared with 15.1% during the prior year period. Total sales at B&N were up 9.4% to $2.16 billion.

News

Cully Leaves B&N for Lechters
-- 12/20/99

David Cully, v-p, general merchandise manager, Barnes & Noble Retail Stores, and president of Barnes & Noble Distribution, has left the company to become president and chief operating officer at Lechters, one of the country's largest retail houseware chains. No one had been named to replace Cully at press time.

In financial news, Barnes & Noble's quarterly filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission shows that sales at the company's B. Dalton stores fell 10.4% in the third quarter ended October 30, 1999, to $88 million. The company attributed the decline to the closing of 65 Dalton outlets over the last year as well as to an 0.8% drop in comparable store sales. Earlier this year, B&N reported that total revenues rose 9% to $715.9 million (News, Nov. 22). Dalton represented 12.3% of B&N revenues in the quarter compared to 14.9% in the third quarter of fiscal 1999. During the quarter, four Daltons were closed, leaving the mall-based chain with 444 stores at the end of October, compared to 528 superstores.

For the nine-month period, sales at Dalton were down 8.5% to $272 million, with sames -store sales off 0.4%. Dalton contributed 12.6% of year-to-date total sales, compared with 15.1% during the prior year period. Total sales at B&N were up 9.4% to $2.16 billion.

A version of this article appeared in the 12/20/1999 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline: