Bookstores Industry Profile

Companies in this industry sell books from physical retail locations; they may also sell via websites. Major companies include Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Follett (all based in the US), as well as Fnac (France), Kinokuniya (Japan), Page One (China), Thalia (Germany), and WHSmith (UK).

The bookstore industry has worldwide revenue of about $60 billion, according to MarketLine. Some countries have restrictions on pricing and foreign ownership of bookstores, which have restricted the development of multinational chains.

The US bookstores industry includes about 9,500 stores with combined annual revenue of about $11 billion and is expected to grow at a medium rate in the next two years. Key growth drivers include consumer spending and technological innovations.

Online booksellers, such as Amazon.com, are covered in the industry profile for Internet & Catalog Retailers.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by demographics and consumer income. The profitability of individual companies depends on merchandising and marketing. Large companies can provide broader selections and lower prices. Small companies can compete by offering specialized products or serving a local market. The industry is highly concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for about 85 percent of sales.

The industry is being redefined as booksellers fend off intense competition from discount stores and online retailers and adjust to increasing acceptance by consumers of digital books as an alternative to printed books. Bookstores are finding the times challenging and Borders, once ...