The country's three largest bookstores all had improved operating margins last year, with Books-A-Million having the best performance, with its margin rising from 2.1% in 2002 to 3.3%. Borders had the highest margin at 5.5%, although Barnes & Noble's margin would have equaled that mark if the company did not include results from Barnes & Noble.com. B&N began including B&N.com's figures in September after it completed its purchase of Bertelsmann's stake in the e-tailer. B&N.com added sales of $151 million and a loss of $7 million to B&N's balance sheet.
Bookstore Chains at a Glance, 2003
($ in Millions)
| B&N | Borders | BAM | |
| Sales | $4,372.0 | $3,731.0 | $460.0 |
| Operating Income | $226.0 | $205.6 | $15.2 |
| Operating Margin | 5.2% | 5.5% | 3.3% |
| Stores | 842 | 1,198 | 202 |
| New Stores¹ | 30—35 | 24—26 | 8—10 |
| ¹Planned for 2004 | |||
