Barnes & Noble

It looks like Liberty Mutual isn’t the only corporate investor who is getting interested in Barnes & Noble B&N filed some SEC paperwork earlier today, and in that paperwork they revealed that Dimensional Fund Advisors, a asset management firm based in Austin TX, now owns just under 3.3 million shares.

DFA now controls a 5.45% stake in the country’s largest bookstore chain. The actual dollar mount of the investment was not disclosed. (via Publishers Weekly)

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Barnes & Noble reportedly has a deal in the works that would make its Nook eReader devices for sale outside of the United States for the first time.

The first deal would be in the U.K. The Washington Post has more: “The chain is developing a partnership with the U.K.’s Waterstones Booksellers Ltd. to add the Nook to its locations this year, said the person, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. Closely held Waterstones, the largest bookstore chain in the U.K., has about 300 stores.”

The move will help the U.S. book chain catch up with the competition. Amazon’s Kindle devices and Rakuten’s Kobo devices are already available in various international markets. Apple and Google both sell eBooks in various regions around the world as well.

Earlier this month, Barnes & Noble said that it is considering spinning-off the Nook business to cope with mounting costs.

Barnes & Noble reported today that Nook sales during the 9 week holiday sales period increased 70% from the same period last year. This includes sales of the Nook Simple Touch, the Nook Color and the Nook Tablet.

In addition the company reported that digital content sales – which includes eBooks, digital magazines and apps– grew 113% during the same 9-week period this year versus last year.

The company’s retail sales were $1.2 billion during the 9-week holiday period, up 2.5% from last year. BN.com sales were $327 million, a 43% over the prior year. The retailer is predicting that fiscal 2012 digital content sales will be approximately $450 million.

Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch stated:  “We have a large and growing installed base of millions of satisfied customers buying digital content from us, and we have a NOOK business that’s growing rapidly year-over-year and should be approximately $1.5 billion in comparable sales this fiscal year.  Between continued projected growth in the U.S., and the opportunity for NOOK internationally in the next 12 months, we expect the business to continue to scale rapidly for the foreseeable future.”

In an attempt to sell more eReaders for the holiday, Barnes & Noble is running a special promotion inviting customers to trade in their old eReaders for a new one in exchange for a $50 B&N gift card.

The Barnes & Noble press release explains the terms: “Through December 24, 2011, customers can visit any Barnes & Noble bookstore and trade in their NOOK 1st Edition when they purchase any new NOOK device, and receive a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card free.” (If you aren’t interested in this offer, you can always sell your old one on eBay).

For those holiday shoppers who are considering buying a Nook, Barnes & Noble is also offering free shipping and free gift wrapping on Nook devices. The release continues: “Online shoppers can order any NOOK by December 22, 2011 at 11:59 pm (EST) for free delivery in time for Christmas (December 24, 2011). And in any Barnes & Noble store, customers can have their newly purchased NOOK device gift-wrapped at no cost.”

Barnes & Noble released a new update for the Nook Color today, and users are already reporting that it’s playing merry hell with their tablets.

This is the v1.4.1 update, and it brings the NookColor up to date with the Nook Tablet, which had 1.4 on launch. This update brings over a hundred new features and improvements, including the Netflix app,a new reading mode and more font options, a redesigned NookStore, and it also gives users access to several new apps including a new reading app for comics.

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Overstock.com has partnered with Barnes & Noble to sell eBooks through its website using the Nook Store.

As you can see from the image on the left, Overstock.com shoppers will now be able to buy digital books in a transaction that is powered through Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Store. Overstock.com currently carries Certified pre-owned editions of the Nook Color for $149.

Overstock.com president Jonathan Johnson stated: “As the number one seller of refurbished Nook devices, we are pleased to partner with Barnes & Noble to expand our product offering so that our customers have fast, easy access to the breadth of digital content that Barnes & Noble offers.”

The partnership is the first for Barnes & Noble, though the book retailer does sell its eReading devices in other retail stores including Target, Best Buy and Staples. Perhaps they will be next to sell eBooks.

Barnes & Noble released its earnings report for its second quarter  today (which ended October 29, 2011). While Barnes & Noble store retail sales decreased 1% from $931 million to $918 million, the digital business is up.

BN.com’s sales increased 17% over the prior year, from $177 million to $206 million, and the company attributed this increase to its Nook business. B&N reported an 85% increase to $220 million in this business in the second quarter. This includes all of the company’s Nook related sales such as digital content, devices and accessories.

The company also reported that its Barnes & Noble College division showed a 4% decline in sales from $797 million to $768 million. The press release said that this drop was, “due to a shift from selling new and used textbooks to lower priced, higher margin textbook rentals.” (Via GalleyCat).

Barnes & Noble is running a Cyber Monday sale today on various titles, but the most interesting off for eBook fans is a free gift with purchase for customers that buy a Nook device. Those customers who buy a Nook online with a MasterCard will receive a free $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card, as well as free shipping. The deal follows a Black Friday promotion on Nooks which ran in stores only.

Amazon and Buy.com are also running Cyber Monday deals on eReaders. Buy.com is running a special promotion on the Kobo Touch eReader with Special Offers today, selling the device for $69.99, plus free shipping. Amazon is running a Cyber Monday sale on the Kindle DX. It is on sale today for $259, $120 off its usual price of $379.

Barnes & Noble is running a sale on the Nook Simple Touch on Black Friday only.

The sale is on the version with the white border. It will be on sale for $79, down from $99. You won’t be able to get this device online, as it’s an in-store only promotion.

The deal will run on Friday while supplies last. For more information, follow this link.

Have you had your fill of Nook Tablet videos? If not then here’s one more.

Barnes & Noble also released another demo video yesterday for the Nook Tablet. You can find it on B&N’s Youtube account.