Heckwood
Masters of Scale

How Barnes & Noble made a comeback, with CEO James Daunt

Aug 20, 2026 · 32m 54s
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About this episode

CEO James Daunt has now rescued two iconic bookstore chains: Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. He joins host Jeff Berman to discuss the turnarounds, plus how bookstores are preparing for an onslaught of AI-written content, his BookTok strategy, and why local control is the key to making great bookstores. Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

How Barnes & Noble made a comeback, with CEO James Daunt — Heckwood