Barnes Noble CEO: 'We're still enjoying an extraordinary boom in reading'

Barnes Noble CEO James Daunt pointed out that the coronavirus pandemic has fueled an explosion in reading among young people and that TikTok has increased interest in books overall.

We are still enjoying an extraordinary boom in reading, Cavuto told David on Thursday from inside a Barnes Noble store. He pointed out that the boom includes all ages, but especially young adults.

Neil Cavuto told host Daunt that the store he was talking about was full of kids and young adults.

Barnes Noble, bought by a hedge and made private in 2019, reported double-digit sales growth in books so far this year compared to pre-pandemic levels, the New York Post reported, noting that the company credited teenagers and tweens for helping fuel the surge.

Sales of books in the U.S. across the industry have increased 12% so far this year as of August and 20 percent compared to 2019, the Post reported quoting market research firm NPD Group.

Amazon told The Post that double-digit growth of books has not happened since Daunt came along. Speaking with Cavuto on Thursday said that the biggest group which has really exploded has been young adults, young people in their early 20s. In our top 10 in the last six months or so, consistently over half of books have been titles that have been driven by this age group and these are old books, they are not new published books, he added.

Daunt also noted how supply chain issues plaguing retailers across the board could affect his company ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Books are probably in a better position than most, Daunt said because the publication dates are already announced well in advance.

The problem for us will come when there's a surprise best-seller and it has to be reprinted and then it has to get out from the printing presses through the same supply chain where these bottlenecks exist. That s what we are concerned about, he continued.