Note 1. Organization

Description of Business

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (“BNED”) is one of the largest contract operators of physical and virtual bookstores for higher education and K-12 institutions across the United States, one of the largest textbook wholesalers, and a leading provider of digital education services. Through its Barnes & Noble College (“BNC”) and MBS Textbook Exchange (“MBS”) subsidiaries, Barnes & Noble Education operates 1,483 physical and virtual bookstores and serves more than 6 million students, delivering essential educational content and tools within a dynamic retail environment. We have two reportable segments: BNC and MBS.

BNC operates 777 physical campus bookstores as of October 28, 2017, the majority of which also have school-branded e-commerce sites operated by BNC. Our campus stores are a social and academic hub through which students can access affordable course materials and affinity products, including new and used print and digital textbooks, which are available for sale or rent, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books, computer products, school and dorm supplies, café offerings, convenience food and beverages, and graduation products. BNC product offerings also include a suite of digital content, software, and services through our LoudCloud platform, such as predictive analytics, a variety of open educational resources ("OER") courseware, and competency-based learning solutions and a learning management system. Additionally, through Student Brands, LLC, a leading direct-to-student subscription-based writing services business, BNC offers services focused on study tools, writing help, and literary research, all centered around assisting students with the writing process.

Our MBS subsidiary operates two highly integrated businesses. The MBS Direct business is the largest contract operator of virtual bookstores for college and university campuses and private/parochial K-12 schools. MBS Direct operates 706 virtual bookstores as of October 28, 2017, offering new and used print and digital textbooks, which are available for sale or rent. Additionally, MBS Direct sells textbooks directly to students through textbooks.com^SM, one of the largest e-commerce sites for new and used textbooks. MBS Wholesale is one of the largest textbook wholesalers in the country, providing a comprehensive selection of new and used textbooks at a low cost of supply to more than 3,700 physical bookstores (as of April 29, 2017), including BNC’s 777 campus bookstores.

Educational institutions increasingly are outsourcing bookstore operations, investing in data-driven analytical tools, and offering students more affordable options for textbooks and other learning tools. Given these continuing trends, we are well-positioned to capture new market share and partner with an increasing number of schools across the country. As demand for new, improved, and more affordable products and services increase in the rapidly changing education landscape, we are working to evolve our business model and enhance our solutions. We aim to be an even stronger partner for schools and meet customer needs by expanding our physical and virtual bookstore service capabilities, courseware offerings and digital platform services. We believe that our recent strategic actions, including the acquisition of LoudCloud, Promoversity, MBS, and Student Brands and development of courseware, have substantially enhanced our competitive position. We continue to aggressively innovate and collaborate with our partners to provide solutions that extend well beyond course materials sourcing and sales to include new digital services that support successful student outcomes.

On August 3, 2017, we acquired Student Brands, LLC ("Student Brands"). Student Brands operates multiple direct-to-student businesses focused on Study Tools, Writing Help, and Literary Research, all centered around assisting students with the writing process. Student Brands has a substantial and growing community of online learners, with over 20 million unique monthly users across its digital properties, which include123HelpMe.com, Bartleby.com and StudyMode.com in the United States and TrabalhosFeitos.com, Etudier.com and Monografias.com in Brazil, France and Mexico, respectively. Student Brands utilizes deep data analytics and artificial intelligence to drive its content management system, the Content Brain. The Content Brain sifts through millions of pieces of content and provides the best answer for virtually any assignment a student is tackling. Student Brands generates revenue predominantly through its subscription-based services and digital advertisements.

Growth Drivers

The primary factors that we expect will enable us to grow our business are as follows:


•	Increasing market share with new accounts.


•	Adapting our merchandising strategy and product and service offerings.


•	Providing a scalable and leading digital product and solution set.


•	Expanding strategic opportunities through acquisitions and partnerships.

For additional information related to the growth drivers for our business, see Part I - Item 1. Business - Overview - Growth Drivers in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 29, 2017.