Barnes & Noble wants to be a great bookseller again | Retail Dive

The temporary closure of nonessential businesses during the pandemic has panicked many a retailer, but Daunt's team has seized it as an opportunity to overhaul stores. He describes a process of tearing up the old playbook, from how books are categorized to where and how shelves are placed. Years of siloed book-buying and corporate-level planning meant some that should have been shelved together were scattered in various sections, making for an awkward flow - manga stuck behind history, for example. Above all, Daunt wants to create spaces where people can linger and discover, maybe for hours.