Barnes & Noble ex-chairman drops bid for retail locations

Barnes & Noble, which has numerous locations throughout the five boroughs, lost former Chairman Leonard Riggio’s bid for the company’s retail business.

“While I reserve the right to pursue an offer in the future, I believe it is in the company’s best interests to focus on the business at hand,” he said in an SEC filing.

Riggio’s announcement follows Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch’s departure last month, after which the company did not immediately name a replacement.

The embattled bookseller took another hit in the first quarter with large losses and a 12 percent slump in morning trading. Net losses for the company’s three months ending July 27 hit $87 million — compared to a loss of $39.8 million at the same time last year. Revenue likewise slid 9 percent to $1.33 billion, falling from $1.45 billion in 2012.

The company shuttered its Lincoln Center location in 2010, and in January announced plans to close up to a third of its retail stores over the next decade, starting in 2014.

“We are working on innovative ways to sell content to our existing customers and are exploring new markets we can serve successfully,” Michael Huseby, president of Barnes & Noble, told Crain’s, pointing to plans to release a new Nook device during the holiday season. [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland