but the nook never caught fire losing $475 million last year and now william lidge is the former ceo of barns and noble. and the company's problems are bigger than just the nook division. sales did drop 34% in the most recent quarter, but sales in the physical stores and website also decreased by 10%. even if barnes & noble gepts rid of it's nook business, the outlook for the company as a stand alone retailer is hazy. amazon and other retailers are tough competition in the book business as people read on kindles and ipads. over the past five years sales at u.s. bookstores have fallen by nearly 3% but the analyst isn't dismissing barnes & noble's retail presence yet saying sales struggled but believes the retailer meets a demand. >> i go in there. take my kids in there to look at games, kids stuff, toys. it's a great store with a lot of traffic. the college bookstore business has a lot of value. >> i'm old-school fashioned. i like the feel of a book. >> i love the portability of a kindle or ipad. i like reading wherever i go. >> at barnes & noble we come with the kids to play up starp

but the nook never caught fire losing $475 million last year and now william lidge is the former ceos and noble. and the company's problems are bigger than just the nook division. sales did drop 34% in the most recent quarter, but sales in the physical stores and website also decreased by 10%. even if barnes & noble gepts rid of it's nook business, the outlook for the company as a stand alone retailer is hazy. amazon and other retailers are tough competition in the book business as people read on kindles and ipads. over the past five years sales at u.s. bookstores have fallen by nearly 3% but the analyst isn't dismissing barnes & noble's retail presence yet saying sales struggled b