Andre Yoskowitz
9 Jul 2013 9:22
Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch has resigned from his position, as of yesterday, as the company continues to review "its current strategic plan."
Lynch has been replaced by CFO Michael P. Huseby, who will now have the titles Chief Executive Officer of NOOK Media LLC and President of Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Max J. Roberts will remain Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble College and Mitchell Klipper will remain as Chief Executive Officer of the Barnes & Noble Retail Group.
Lynch, who became CEO in 2010 after years at B&N's web division, was expected to help the company jump into a digital future, but so far they have failed. The company began its Nook brand, which was successful for e-readers but not so much for tablets. The underpowered tablets never saw strong sales and the company recently began a fire sale, dropping prices by as much as $130 for already cheap devices.
During the company's last earnings report, it was revealed that the Nook division only saw revenue of $108 million, down 34 percent year-over-year. The company has discontinued manufacturing Nook tablets, and will now license the platform to OEMs.