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Chain Sales Rose 11% in Fiscal '00 to $6.8 Billion
Jim Milliot -- 3/27/00
Top four companies account for 50% of retail sales



Total revenues for the nation's four largest retail bookstore chains rose 11% to $6.83 billion for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2000. The 11% gain is a significant improvement over the 8.6% growth rate posted by the chains for fiscal 1999, a year in which the leading retailers had their slowest sales increase in six years.

The top three chains, Barnes & Noble, Borders Group and Books-A-Million, all recorded higher growth rates in fiscal 2000 than in the previous year, and Crown Books slowed its sales decline. Crown, which emerged from bankruptcy last November, finished the year with estimated revenues of $185 million and 92 stores. The chain is currently not trading as a public company, but executives hope to have Crown re-listed some time this summer.

The sales gains at B&N and Borders were led by their superstore operations; superstore sales rose 12.2% to $2.8 billion at B&N and 22.4% to $1.9 billion at Borders. B&N and Borders superstores combined to generate revenues of $4.7 billion last year, an increase of 14.6% over fiscal 1999. Revenues from B&N do not include sales from its Babbage's subsidiary, and sales from Borders exclude the $17.9 million in revenues from borders.com; figures from BAM do include sales from booksamillion.com (the company has never broken out results from its online unit, which it said had a "successful year" in fiscal 2000).

Amazon.com also had a successful year in 1999; the e-retailer's estimated book sales of $800 million made it the nation's third-largest bookselling entity last year, while its major online rival, Barnes&Noble.com had sales of $202 million, good enough for fifth place among bookselling establishments.

Back in bricks-and-mortar land, in fiscal 2000, the total number of outlets operated by the four major chains fell by approximately 2% to 2,454. Both B&N (from 1,009 to 942) and Crown (from 179 to 92) reduced their number of stores; Borders added 54 outlets to finish the year with 1,204, and BAM had a net gain of seven for a total of 180.

The 11% growth rate posted by the chains far outpaced the 3.7% growth reported for the entire bookstore sector, pushing the chains' market share to 50% of retail bookstore sales from 47% in fiscal 1999.
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