Barnes & Noble has a group of insanely loyal customers - and they're killing business
The bookstore chain's e-reader has cost the company $39 million in the past year, executives said on a recent conference call with analysts.
The Nook continues to put a damper on Barnes & Noble's profitability even though the company's same-store sales are actually up.
In this case, the loyalty of Nook customers is actually hurting the company's business.
Barnes & Noble can't abandon its Nook business because fans of the e-reader are avid customers, Gabelli & Co. analyst John Tinker told CBS Moneywatch.
"You cannot just walk away from them," Tinker said.
If Barnes & Noble eliminated the Nook, it could risk alienating many of its customers forever.
The Nook business has struggled to compete with Amazon's Kindle. Barnes & Noble is constantly investing in new iterations of the Nook with up-to-date technology. It also sells many e-books at a loss to compete with Amazon's lower prices.
Barnes & Noble is currently looking to cut costs in the e-reader department.
Barnes & Noble is also going to open smaller-format stores that will cost less to operate.
It plans to close 10 of its less profitable large stores in the coming year.