No Potter Book Will Save B&N This Year

Barnes & Noble reported its first quarter earnings on May 22, showing that sales dropped 1.5% among stores it owned a year ago. (Analysts look to “same store sales” for the market trend — B&N’s overall sales are higher due to new stores added to the chain.) The second quarter will compare even more unfavorably, because that is the period last year when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows was released.

[Thanks to John Mansfield for the pointer.]