Barnes & Noble rebounds with rapid store expansion under CEO James Daunt

Barnes & Noble, once reduced to under 600 stores, announced the opening of 57 new locations in 2024 and plans to add roughly 60 more, marking a pace not seen since the early 2010s. The revival follows Elliott Management’s 2019 acquisition and the appointment of James Daunt, who previously revitalized Waterstones and founded Daunt Books. Daunt emphasizes improving store fundamentals—layout, service, inventory—and shifting decision-making to local teams, flattening corporate hierarchies.

He warns that overreliance on centralized data can stifle individuality, urging stores to trust staff intuition. Marketing spend is minimal; instead, the chain counts on BookTok and internal staff communication to spread popular titles organically. This blend of empowerment and social-media buzz underpins the retailer’s rapid growth.