What if Starbucks were to acquire Barnes and Noble?
First of all we wouldn’t be seeing notices like these.
Second of all Barnes and Noble with a market cap of $ 788.91 Million is an easy acquisition for Starbucks with a market cap of $42.24 Billion.
And for Barnes and Noble with their stocks fluctuating between $13 and $16 for a long time is only slipping further. Nook sales are down and Amazon has beaten them in both; e-readers and print books.
Starbucks’s stocks have been rising steadily since 2009.
But these are not the reasons why I am recommending that Starbucks should acquire Barnes and Noble.
I am actually saying that Starbucks need a game changing act soon and acquiring Barnes and Noble is one such act.
Here are my reasons:
- Starbucks has serious competition in its core business. Caribou coffee can give Starbucks a run for its money any day. I personally prefer Caribou Coffee when I have the option between the two. Caribou Coffee has a better store layout and a more homey touch than Starbucks that resembles more like an old library. In other words, Caribou Coffee is more in tune with Gen Y.
- Amazon went from a book seller to a world’s leading tech company, why can’t a connoisseur coffee seller foray into technology? What better opportunity than to invest the money in Barnes and Noble e-readers to boost its appeal and sales. I can attest that Nook is a classy device, lost in the sea of competition that is willing to make no money out of them yet.
- Coffee and books are made for each other. Why can’t we add breakfast and pastries to that list. After all you would have so much real estate to play with. e-readers are the future. You’ll have more space than you actually need to host all the books of the world.
- Offer a Starbucks coupon with every book you sell. Come on Mr. Schultz, we know those coffees really don’t cost that much!
- And not to forget that an act of keeping Barnes and Noble open will make Starbucks an instant heart throb of millions of Americans, including yours truly.
- Gen Z adore this section (see image below), you need them to come to you before they discover Caribou Coffee. Invest in the future.
