Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS) Finally Gives Up

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Microsoft is watching
As a witness to Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS)’s failure, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) should be taking notes. Not only does the software giant have a 17% stake in the Nook business, but also it’s in the midst of ramping up its own first-party tablet ambitions.

I was surprised to see Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) show up within the top five tablet vendors in IDC’s fourth quarter estimates, selling approximately 1 million units for a 1.9% market share during the holiday season. That was the first time the company ranked within the top five, and could have been considered evidence that the Nook HD launch was successful. That was more than the 900,000 Surface RT units that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shipped into the channel, a figure that Microsoft was able to maintain sequentially with the Surface Pro launch the next quarter.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s strategy is completely different, though, seeking margins up front and maintaining a distinct platform, but the company should still be heeding lessons from its business partner’s failure.

The article Barnes & Noble Finally Gives Up originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).

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