Barnes & Noble: Managing the E-book Revolution Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Problem Statement

Barnes & Noble a traditional retailer of books is facing a critical challenge of surviving in the industry due to the emergence of competition and the inception of digital technologies. Competitors like Amazon and Apple are passing the major threat and formulating uncertainties that may hinder the growth of this traditional retailer. Therefore the company is under real consideration about the selection of the platform that will enable the company to compete effectively with these new challenges and uncertainties.

Distribution and devices that enable reading are the two platforms for which the competition is increasing and the company has to decide on either to create a new digital platform or follow an integrated approach. Besides that the fragmented standards for distribution of E-books is also a point on which the company will have to impose lots of thinking. The decision has to be made that will allow this traditional retail or to become competitive in the growing competitive environment in the industry.

External Analysis

This section will incorporate the five strategic forces that shape strategy to analyze the industry in order to get an in-depth overview of the situation. This will facilitate in selecting the alternatives and proposing the right recommendation to the company.

Porter’s Five Forces

Bargaining Power of Buyers

The buyers are now facilitated by a variety of options and due to the emergence of players like Amazon, Google, Apple etc., the options have become vast. Barnes and Noble is a traditional retailer, which is why has suffered a great deal as the buyer bragging power has increased significantly.

The buyers have the advantage in the form of low switching cost as the options are wide and many players exist to facilitate the buyers.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

The suppliers in the industry possess a moderate power to bargain as there are few materials that have ample of suppliers while in few requirements the players are restricted. However, the digital platform does not allow the suppliers to bargain highly as the publishers are in contract with different players simultaneously. Therefore, the bargaining power of suppliers is to some extent low and not very high.

Threat of New Entrants

With the emergence of digital platforms and innovation in technology, the booksellers are transforming their business and shifting from traditional brick and mortar stores to e-commerce. The online retail stores are cost effective and allow the company or the player to cater mass market at very low cost. Due to the emergence of these new innovations the industry barriers like initial capital and large operating cost has declined significantly. Therefore the threat of new entrants is increasing significantly and is currently very high.

Threat of Substitutes

The local retail stores like Costco, Wal-Mart, Target, and Amazon are the major substitutes for Barnes & Noble as these retail chains are also catering in different variety of books. On the other hand, the threat extends to digital platforms as well and products like smartphones and tablets have increased the threat for Nook.

Competitive Rivalry

The competition in the industry is getting intense and increasing rapidly. This is the major threat for Barnes & Noble as it has to compete with two different types of competitors or rivals. In the bookstores segments, competitors like Books a million and Borders are the major threat while in the specialty segment Wal-Mart, Amazon, etc. are passing the major threat to the company.

Key Industry Success Factors

The key success factors in the industry include competing or staying competitive in terms of technology and innovation. Besides that maintaining healthy or good relationships with the suppliers like publishers can be a great success factor. The companies can acquire a major publisher to differentiate from others. Although, Amazon does not have any physical existence, but a major success factor can be to operate in both channels to cater more clients and sustain the already established image. On the other hand, promotion can play a vital role in attracting traffic to the online and the retail stores.Barnes & Noble Managing the E-Book Revolution Case Solution

Opportunities

The major opportunities that the company can utilize or is available for Barnes & Noble to exploit include eBook and e Reader potential in the industry. The company can completely exploit the digital channel by enhancing its offering and utilizing The Nook for other purposes besides reading. Exploit opportunities in the college book segment and other segments in which the competitors are not efficient. On the other hand, collaborating with an industry player and acquiring a publisher can help in creating differentiation ...................

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