How Can Barnes & Noble Avoid Borders’ Fate?

In the wake of declining sales and increasing debt, Barnes & Noble is struggling to deliver growth, increase foot traffic in its stores, sell more digital goods and otherwise race against the clock to find a winning formula before it suffers the same fate as former chief rival Borders.

Facing stiff competition from Barnes & Noble and online bookseller Amazon, Borders was forced to shut its doors in 2011 after it filed for bankruptcy but failed to attract any bids to save it. Now, it seems that Barnes & Noble’s fate could soon hang in the balance. “Barnes & Noble has the opportunity to get out of this mess, but they only have one shot and not enough time,” says Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader.