Barnes & Noble Fires CEO; Reaffirms FY 2019 Guidance Amid Turnaround Plan

Barnes & Noble fired CEO Demos Parneros for violations of company policies, it said Tuesday. The termination didn’t relate to financial reporting, policies, practices or potential fraud, said the company. Parneros, promoted to CEO from chief operating officer in April 2017, received no severance and is no longer a board member, said B&N, which has begun a search for his successor. A leadership group comprising Chief Financial Officer Allen Lindstrom, Chief Merchandising Officer Tim Mantel and Carl Hauch, vice president-stores, are sharing CEO duties until a new chief executive is named, it said. Leonard Riggio remains executive chairman and will be involved in company management, it said. In the news release, the company highlighted the resume of 48-year-old Mantel, who joined Barnes & Noble in February, detailing his tenure as chief merchandising officer at GNC and prior executive positions at Target. No changes in the company’s goals or objectives are planned, said B&N, which reaffirmed its previously announced EBITDA guidance of $175 million-$200 million for fiscal 2019. On an earnings call last month (see 1806220020) Parneros called FY 2018 "a challenging year for Barnes & Noble, as retail dynamics continue to present headwinds for our business.” A turnaround plan in the works was laying groundwork for the future, he said, cautioning that turnaround plans “take time.” For the year ended April 28, total sales fell 6 percent to $3.7 billion, same-store sales declined 5.4 percent and online sales dropped 9.6 percent compared with a year-earlier increase of 3.7 percent, the company reported. Its $125.5 million net loss compared with a FY 2017 profit of $22 million. In August 2016, Barnes & Noble parted with CEO Ron Boire, a former Best Buy and Sony executive, who received a $4.8 million payment in November of that year under a termination agreement (see 1611010045). Shares closed up 0.8 percent Thursday at $5.90.