For many years while my daughter was growing up, the weekend was a chance for her and my wife to spend time at the local Barnes & Noble. They would spend enjoyable hours strolling "Barnes," as they referred to it, perusing the various sections and eventually coming out with a coffee and a book or two.
In 2007, there were approximately 43,000 bookstores in the United States. Around 2010, with the onslaught of e-books and audio books, local bookstores and even large chains started taking a big hit. Borders, a large chain bookstore, claimed bankruptcy in 2011. Barnes & Noble closed its flagship New York store in 2014. Year by year the numbers declined, and by 2020 there were only about 12,000 stores in operation. Then in 2019, Barnes & Noble hired James Daunt, and Daunt quicky shifted the standard chain store strategy. First, he implemented a local strategy, with the business moving away from its corporate approach to one that empowered local store managers to curate inventory based on their own community's interests and buying habits. Under Daunt, Barnes & Noble sought to emphasize an in-store culture where customers were able to linger, talk, and freely roam about. It embraced social media to assist in the promotion of their books and merchandise and rid the stores of unpopular items that were considered better off purchased online, such as medical books, etc. This influenced other bookstores to do the same, and by 2025 there were approximately 68,000 bookstores in the United States, with Barnes & Noble leading the way by adding 60 new stores per year since 2022.
Perhaps the future of the dental profession can learn from this shift in business strategy and the success of James Daunt. Perhaps we can implement some changes to the industry whereby our laboratories and dental offices work more closely with each other while seeking to focus on the local needs of our patients and strive to create more community-based businesses. Imagine how we, too, could grow our industry like the resilient bookstore market in a digital age.
Peter Pizzi, MDT, CDT
Editor-in-Chief
peter.pizzi@conexiant.com
