Bookselling: Malone on BN

PublishersLunch

Attending the Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley, Liberty Media ceo John Malone spoke publicly about the potential Barnes & Noble buyout for the first time since the possible merger was announced back in May. "It would be a bit of a flier for us, on whether or not Barnes & Noble can play competitively with the likes of Apple and Amazon in the digital transformation," he said. "That's really the bet."

Malone characterized the steep decline in brick-and-mortar bookselling as akin to those who survive a smallpox epidemic: "If you're still alive, well, maybe you got a chance of living a long life." But he also sees an advantage in the brick and mortar aspect of the business, saying publishers "like existing physical bookstores" and value "a partner in distribution who lives and dies in the book business as opposed to just commoditizing it, which these other players do. So I think you go into it with an edge in your relationship with the publishers.”
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