(By Balachander) Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) reported a shortfall in sales of Nook devices for the nine-week holiday period ending December 29, 2012.
The bookseller said sales of NOOK products in the Retail segment fell during the holiday period, citing a fall in unit volume and average selling prices.
Revenue at the company's NOOK segment, which consists of Barnes' digital business, fell 12.6 percent for the holiday period to $311 million.
"NOOK device sales got off to a good start over the Black Friday period, but then fell short of expectations for the balance of holiday," commented CEO William Lynch. "We are examining the root cause of the December shortfall in sales, and will adjust our strategies accordingly going forward."
Barnes said it now expects NOOK Media revenue of roughly $3 billion for 2013, and NOOK segment EBITDA losses at a comparable level to fiscal year 2012.
Revenue at the company's Retail segment, fell 11 percent to $1.2 billion.
Core comparable store sales, which exclude sales of NOOK products, declined 3.1 percent because of lower bookstore traffic, the company said.
Bookstore sales of core products exceeded the company's expectations, Barnes said and it continues to expect 2013 Retail comparable bookstore sales to decline on a percentage basis in the low- to mid-single digits.
The Fortune 500 company operates 689 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and the e-commerce site, BN.com (www.bn.com).
The company will report second quarter results on or about February 19, 2013.
Shares inched up 0.66 percent to trade at $14.61 on Thursday.