By George Anderson
Barnes & Noble chief executive, Steve Riggio, is a big believer in multichannel retailing for no other reason than it drives sales in his company's bookstores.
Mr. Riggio told analysts attending Prudential's Back-to-School conference "instead of seeing the Internet as a cannibal...an Internet connection drives customers to the stores."
Nearly one in four sales made in stores (24 percent) said Mr. Riggio are made after a customer has researched the product online.
Once shoppers are in a Barnes & Noble, Mr. Riggio is confident that the atmosphere of the store will keep them there. In-store cafes create a comfortable atmosphere where people want to hang out, he said. The social element of Barnes & Noble, said Mr. Riggio, has real estate developers looking at Barnes & Noble bookstores as the modern day equivalent of "town squares."
Moderator's Comment: How important is a multichannel approach to success in retailing? Which companies do the best job of complementing their in-store business with online and/or catalogs? - George Anderson - Moderator