When James Daunt took over as CEO of Barnes & Noble in 2019, he brought a simple idea with him: make the big-box chain feel like a neighborhood indie bookstore. That approach, rooted in his own experience running a beloved London bookshop, became the core of his plan to turn the retailer around.
James Daunt's indie bookstore background and Barnes & Noble turnaround
Barnes & Noble had just been taken private by Elliott Advisors for $683 million. The company was struggling with sales declines, and many blamed the formulaic stores that had lost their charm. The hedge fund chose Daunt, a Brit, for the top job based on his track record. He had already revived Waterstones, a large British bookseller owned by Elliott, and he had built Daunt Books, a ten-store chain in London that book lovers treat as a special place.
According to Axios, Daunt has been credited with engineering a turnaround for the bookstore chain. His plan centered on giving Barnes & Noble's more than 700 stores some of the feel of his namesake chain, which is known for browsing-friendly displays and oak-paneled galleries.
How Daunt made Barnes & Noble stores feel more like indie bookshops
Daunt's strategy was to behave less like a big-box behemoth and more like a bookstore run by book lovers. Instead of relying on corporate formulas, he pushed for stores to have more local character and better curated selections.
As noted in Instagram, staff were encouraged to take a more hands-on approach, making decisions that reflected their own stores and communities rather than following a one-size-fits-all playbook.
Daunt's approach drew directly from his experience at Daunt Books, where the focus was always on the browsing experience. He believed that if stores felt more personal and less corporate, customers would come back. That meant changing everything from how books were displayed to how staff interacted with shoppers.
Daunt's track record of bookstore turnarounds
This was not Daunt's first revival. Before Barnes & Noble, he had already proven he could fix a struggling bookseller. His work at Waterstones showed that the same indie-style thinking could work on a much larger scale.
According to Modern Retail, Daunt has mastered the art of the bookstore turnaround. The same principles he used at Waterstones and Daunt Books were applied to Barnes & Noble, and the results have been widely noticed.
In an interview covered by YouTube, Daunt discussed his stewardship and rejuvenation of the popular chain. He spoke openly about the challenges of changing a big retailer's culture and the importance of staying true to what makes bookstores special.
"James Daunt's mission to revive Barnes & Noble bookstores." — Monocle
Our Take: Why Daunt's indie approach worked for a big-box chain
In our view, Daunt's success comes down to a simple insight: people do not go to bookstores because they are big. They go because they love books and the experience of finding them. Barnes & Noble had forgotten that, and Daunt reminded them.
To put it plainly, the big-box model had made every store look and feel the same. That was efficient, but it was also boring. Daunt's bet was that giving stores more personality would bring customers back, even if it meant less uniformity.
The early signs suggest he was right. By treating each store as its own local bookshop, Daunt tapped into the same loyalty that indie bookstores enjoy. For readers, that means a better experience. For Barnes & Noble, it means a future that does not depend on being the biggest chain in the mall, but on being the most welcoming one.
What matters now is whether the chain can keep that momentum. The challenge for Daunt is not just fixing the stores, but keeping them fixed as the retail world keeps changing. If his indie instincts hold, Barnes & Noble may have found a formula that works for the long run.
