Could Sports Fans Save Barnes & Noble Education?

Barnes & Noble Education Inc BNED shares got a lift Monday on the heels of a partnership with leading sports retailers Fanatics and Lids.

What Happened: Leading sports retailers Fanatics and Lids signed a partnership that will see Barnes & Noble Education gain access to product assortment to help with its omnichannel merchandising strategy.

Fanatics and Lids are investing $15 million in Barnes & Noble Education with an equity investment that will see the two companies own 2.31 million shares.

Related Link: Insider Buys Barnes & Noble Education’s Shares

Why It’s Important: Barnes & Noble gains access to a product assortment of sports and licensed items from Fanatics and Lids.

Fanatics is the top ranked provider of collegiate merchandise and has more than 150 partnerships with universities for e-commerce. Lids operates over 1,200 retail locations.

The deals could help Barnes & Noble Education with its e-commerce growth. The company plans to roll out its next-generation e-commerce platform in 2021, which it believes will be high margin.

“This partnership has tremendous potential to improve the customer experience, increase selection and accelerate BNED’s growth across our high-margin general merchandise business, particularly in e-commerce,” said Barnes & Noble Education CEO Michael P. Huseby.

The company reported revenue down 23% in the second quarter and down 27% year to date due to a limited number of students on campus.

E-commerce partnerships like this could be key for the company that has seen shares decline 59% over the last five years.

BNED Price Action: At the time of publication, Barnes & Noble Education shares are trading up 7.2% to $4.43.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: NewsPenny StocksRetail SalesMoversTechTrading IdeasFanaticsLids
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!