Do you still go to the Barnes & Noble bookstore in your town?
Apparently not enough people do nationwide.
Company executives told the Wall Street Journal they plan to close 20 stores a year over the next decade.
No specific stores have been targeted yet for closure.
In the East Bay, there are five Barnes & Noble stores. They are in Emeryville, El Cerrito and Pleasant Hill.
If no new stores were opened, that would reduce the number of Barnes & Noble stores nationwide by a third, the Huffington Post reported.
Since 2003, the company has been closing 15 stores a year, but they've also been opening more than 30 a year.
Last year, however, Barnes & Noble closed 14 stores and didn't open any, the Huffington Post reported.
One reason is a steady decline in book sales. Print book sales have decreased 22 percent over the past five years, according to Nielsen BookScan.
If your Barnes & Noble closed, would you miss it? How can bookstores compete more effectively in this electronic age? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
