Barnes & Noble CEO Fired After Less Than a Year on the Job

After being on the job for less than a year, Barnes & Noble CEO Ronald D. Boire has been ousted by the company's board of directors. The bookstore chain’s board said Boire “was not a good fit for the organization,” and will be replaced by Leonard Riggio, the company's executive chairman, until a permanent leader is found. When Boire was hired by Barnes & Noble last year, he vowed to expand the retailer’s electronics product marketing. His prior experience includes CEO of Sears Canada and senior roles at Brookstone, Best Buy and Sony Electronics.

Total Retail’s Take: Boire sounded like the right guy for the job with his background in electronics. However, just focusing on electronics product marketing apparently wasn't enough to compete with the likes of Amazon.com. In its most recent quarter, Barnes & Noble reported sales were down to $876.6 million from $910 million for the same period a year ago. The next CEO needs to stop the bookstore’s bleeding.