For context, Amazon had $16 million in sales in 1996, and B&N $2 billion. In 1996, Jeff Bezos, the 31-year-old CEO of a scrappy startup that sold books online, was approached by Riggio, the multi-millionaire boss of iconic B&N, about a collaboration. B&N's beleaguered shares soared as much as 21% on the news. One bidder is founder Len Riggio, who owns 19% of the company, but says he will follow the recommendation of an independent board appointed to handle the review. Next, we seem to be moving inexorably toward one, powerful, all-knowing, everything store.ĭriving the news: B&N announced yesterday that, after hearing acquisition interest from several parties, it has initiated a strategic review toward possibly selling itself to stay afloat. Superstores like B&N and Toys 'R' Us took us from shopping small to shopping big. The big picture: The arc of retail has been bending toward consolidation for decades. Now, Barnes & Noble, the last chain bookstore standing, is finally buckling, too. One by one, storied chains in books, toys, sporting goods and more have disappeared from American malls and main streets, then vanished from our collective memory.

Amazon reading books online