Barnes & Noble Sees Strong NOOKnewsstand Periodical Sales

Are you familiar with NOOKnewsstand? If not, you're probably alone based on Barnes & Noble's most recent press release. The company's digital periodical subscription service has apparently been doing quite well, exceeding 650,000 subscriptions and single copy sales in just the first two months. The company claims that this is being driven by NOOKcolor sales, but having over 120 magazine titles in stock can't hurt either.


With a dozen new titles, including O, the Oprah Magazine, Food Network Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, Guitar World and Consumer Reports ShopSmart;) added within the last month, NOOKnewsstand now features more than 120 top magazine and newspaper brands and offers the fastest-growing catalog of interactive, full-color magazines with something for every NOOKcolor customer. That's really interesting to hear. Most media companies saw the iPad as the device that would save their business with magazine and newspaper subscriptions heading for the dumps, but now it's the NOOK that seems to be doing well in that space. Even now, there isn't much to be said about iPad magazines. Some are fair, and some are great, but none seem to be huge hits in the App Store.

According to B&N, since Christmas Day customers have already ordered 150% more subscriptions than the total number sold over the entire previous 12 months. One has to wonder if this is a fluke or a trend; is the NOOK really the e-reader that'll bolster magazine sales when the digital era is in full swing? Hard to say, but B&N sure seems to think that'll be the case.

Barnes & Noble’s Best-In-Class NOOKnewsstand™ Delivers Richest Periodical Offering and Experience, Achieves Blockbuster Sales

NOOKnewsstand Exceeds 650,000 Digital Periodical Subscriptions and Single Copy Sales Driven by NOOKcolor™ Customers in First Two Months

Company Offers Exciting Array of Over 120 Periodical Titles Including the Fastest-Growing Digital Collection of Full-Color Magazines

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, is experiencing robust NOOKnewsstand (www.NOOKnewsstand.com) sales since it brought touch and full, rich color to a wide array of digital magazines and leading newspapers when it began shipping NOOKcolor, the first full-color touch Reader’s Tablet. The company announced digital periodical sales are exceeding expectations with more than 650,000 total subscriptions and single copy sales driven by NOOKcolor customers reading interactive versions of all of their favorite newspapers and magazines, along with books and children’s books. With a dozen new titles, including O, the Oprah Magazine, Food Network Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, Guitar World and Consumer Reports ShopSmart;) added within the last month, NOOKnewsstand now features more than 120 top magazine and newspaper brands and offers the fastest-growing catalog of interactive, full-color magazines with something for every NOOKcolor customer.

    “We’ve had overwhelmingly positive feedback from our content partners as well and will continue to build upon our vast collection of periodicals and incorporate even more interactivity for NOOKcolor customers this year.”

Designed for people who love to read everything – books, magazines, newspapers and children’s books – in rich, beautiful color, the award-winning NOOKcolor was the company’s best-selling holiday gift. Since Christmas Day customers, hungry not only for new books, but also periodicals, have already ordered 150% more subscriptions than the total number sold over the entire previous 12 months. And sales continue to be very strong as NOOKcolor customers experience and enjoy the expansive NOOKnewsstand offering on the device’s stunning 7-inch VividView™ Color Touchscreen.

“We are excited to offer a wide array of top periodicals and have seen explosive growth in NOOKnewsstand sales since the launch of NOOKcolor. Our customers clearly enjoy reading digital versions of their favorite magazines in rich, beautiful color, along with their daily newspapers, with the convenience of subscription or single issue purchases,” said Jonathan Shar, Vice President and General Manager of digital newsstand at Barnes & Noble. “We’ve had overwhelmingly positive feedback from our content partners as well and will continue to build upon our vast collection of periodicals and incorporate even more interactivity for NOOKcolor customers this year.”

Among the NOOKnewsstand magazine best-sellers are: Us Weekly, Cosmopolitan, National Geographic, Reader’s Digest, Maxim, Star, O, the Oprah Magazine, Food Network Magazine, Women’s Health and Shape. The top newspapers include USA TODAY, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

With nearly 100 magazine titles and growing, Barnes & Noble offers a wide variety covering home, fashion and beauty, travel, parenting, health, food, celebrities, business, general news and more. Among the NOOKmagazines™ also offered are Glamour, Elle, Men’s Health, Martha Stewart Living, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg Businessweek, House Beautiful, Family Circle, Popular Science, Runner’s World and many more. All magazines are in full-color and are an enhanced version of the print edition, featuring a universal, easy-to-use reading experience including Barnes & Noble’s exclusive ArticleView™ which puts the focus on the content, customized to your favorite reading style.

Customers with NOOKcolor and NOOK devices can also enjoy a wide range of top newspapers, delivered automatically each morning (or when the issue is published) via subscription, or through single copy purchases. The selection of NOOKnewspapers™ also includes The Financial Times, and major dailies such as Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and The Boston Globe.

Experience the wide variety of rich, colorful periodicals available for NOOKcolor today at www.NOOKnewsstand.com, www.NOOKcolor.com or at the NOOK Boutiques and displays in one of Barnes & Noble’s more than 700 bookstores (http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com).