The Barnes & Nobles that resides at Eastridge Mall is the local bookstore for people living in East San Jose, but it is to be shut down. The store played a major role in the community, leading book drives, author readings, educational programs, and donating to local public schools. It is the only place for locals to buy books and participate in educational programs, especially for young kids. The store is starting to clear its shelves in preparation to close its doors permanently on Jan 11, 2018 after not renewing its lease with the mall.
Hit by Amazon’s explosive growth a decade ago, as well as the rise of ebooks, Barnes & Noble closed stores year-in and year-out, which had them opting for short leases. But its store fleet has shrunk from 798 bookstores in 2008 to 640 now. The company is looking to repair its losses from its Nook business, a line of devices launched in 2009 to go toe-to-toe with Amazon’s Kindle. The devices, which at first gave Barnes & Noble a horse in the e-book race, turn out to be an actual loss for the company with losses of almost $70 million in the first nine months of the fiscal year, on sales of only $211 million.
Though the closing of Barnes and Nobles hasn’t officially been announced, many fans are saddened and have started a petition to get Eastridge Mall to keep the store open. The mall’s decision to have the stored closed down has obviously devastated many of their regular customers.
Ashley Ha, a frequent customer, said, “ I’m sad to see the store go because reading is one of my favorite past times and it gives me something to do when my mom is out shopping.”
The good news is “ that the company is being very good to their employees, and are working hard to bring them to a different location,” said Angie, a worker at B&N who is facing her third closing. Though this is her third relocation, she portrays a light-hearted feeling and doesn’t seem to be as bothered as the other employees.
It’s really devastating to see the community lose an important establishment but it was mentioned before that there is a petition to keep the doors open. It’s currently at 7,246 signatures and needs 7,500. So if you don’t want the store to be shut down, 254 more names is all it needs.
Hit by Amazon’s explosive growth a decade ago, as well as the rise of ebooks, Barnes & Noble closed stores year-in and year-out, which had them opting for short leases. But its store fleet has shrunk from 798 bookstores in 2008 to 640 now. The company is looking to repair its losses from its Nook business, a line of devices launched in 2009 to go toe-to-toe with Amazon’s Kindle. The devices, which at first gave Barnes & Noble a horse in the e-book race, turn out to be an actual loss for the company with losses of almost $70 million in the first nine months of the fiscal year, on sales of only $211 million.
Though the closing of Barnes and Nobles hasn’t officially been announced, many fans are saddened and have started a petition to get Eastridge Mall to keep the store open. The mall’s decision to have the stored closed down has obviously devastated many of their regular customers.
Ashley Ha, a frequent customer, said, “ I’m sad to see the store go because reading is one of my favorite past times and it gives me something to do when my mom is out shopping.”
The good news is “ that the company is being very good to their employees, and are working hard to bring them to a different location,” said Angie, a worker at B&N who is facing her third closing. Though this is her third relocation, she portrays a light-hearted feeling and doesn’t seem to be as bothered as the other employees.
It’s really devastating to see the community lose an important establishment but it was mentioned before that there is a petition to keep the doors open. It’s currently at 7,246 signatures and needs 7,500. So if you don’t want the store to be shut down, 254 more names is all it needs.
Link for the petition: