Organization	9 Months Ended
Jan. 28, 2023
Organization	Note 1. Organization Description of Business Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (“BNED”) is one of the largest contract operators of physical and virtual bookstores for college and university campuses and K-12 institutions across the United States. We are also one of the largest textbook wholesalers, inventory management hardware and software providers, and a leading provider of digital education solutions. We operate 1,388 physical, virtual, and custom bookstores and serve more than 6 million students, delivering essential educational content, tools and general merchandise within a dynamic omnichannel retail environment. Additionally, we offer direct-to-student products and services to help students study more effectively and improve academic performance. The strengths of our business include our ability to compete by developing new products and solutions to meet market needs, our large operating footprint with direct access to students and faculty, our well-established, deep relationships with academic partners and stable, long-term contracts and our well-recognized brands. We expect to continue to introduce scalable and advanced digital solutions focused largely on the student, expand our e-commerce capabilities and accelerate such capabilities through our merchandising partnership with Fanatics Retail Group Fulfillment, LLC, Inc. (“Fanatics”) and Fanatics Lids College, Inc. D/B/A "Lids" (“Lids”) (collectively referred to herein as the “F/L Partnership”), increase market share with new accounts, and expand our strategic opportunities through acquisitions and partnerships. We expect gross general merchandise sales to increase over the long term, as our product assortments continue to emphasize and reflect changing consumer trends, and we evolve our presentation concepts and merchandising of products in stores and online, which we expect to be further enhanced and accelerated through the F/L Partnership. Through this partnership, we receive unparalleled product assortment, e-commerce capabilities and powerful digital marketing tools to drive increased value for customers and accelerate growth of our logo general merchandise business. The Barnes & Noble brand (licensed from our former parent) along with our subsidiary brands, BNC and MBS, are synonymous with innovation in bookselling and campus retailing, and are widely recognized and respected brands in the United States. Our large college footprint, reputation, and credibility in the marketplace not only support our marketing efforts to universities, students, and faculty, but are also important to our relationship with leading publishers who rely on us as one of their primary distribution channels, and for being a trusted source for students in our direct-to-student digital solutions business. We have three reportable segments: Retail, Wholesale and DSS. For additional information related to our strategies, operations and segments, see Part I - Item 1. Business in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022. First Day Inclusive and Equitable Access Programs We provide product and service offerings designed to address the most pressing issues in higher education, including equitable access, enhanced convenience and improved affordability through innovative course material delivery models designed to drive improved student experiences and outcomes. We offer our BNC First Day® inclusive and equitable access programs, consisting of First Day Complete and First Day, in which course materials, including both physical and digital content, are offered at a reduced price through a course fee or included in tuition, and delivered to students on or before the first day of class. •First Day Complete is adopted by an institution and includes all classes, providing students both physical and digital materials. The First Day Complete model drives substantially greater unit sales and sell-through for the bookstore. •Through First Day, digital course materials are adopted by a faculty member for a single course, and students receive their materials through their school's learning management system. Offering courseware sales through our inclusive and equitable access First Day Complete and First Day models is a key, and increasingly important strategic initiative of ours to meet the market demands of substantially reduced pricing to students, as well as the opportunity to improve student outcomes, while, at the same time, increasing our market share, revenue and relative gross profits of courseware sales given the higher volumes of units sold in such models as compared to historical sales models that rely on individual student marketing and sales. We expect these programs to allow us to ultimately reverse historical long-term trends in courseware revenue declines, which has occurred at those schools where such programs have been adopted. We are moving quickly and decisively to accelerate our First Day Complete strategy. We plan to move many institutions to First Day Complete for the Fall of 2023 and the majority of schools by Fall 2024. As of January 28, 2023, 116 campus stores adopted our First Day Complete course materials delivery program for the 2023 Spring Term, representing approximately 580,000 in total undergraduate student enrollment (as reported by National Center for Education Statistics), compared to 76 campus stores representing approximately 380,000 in total undergraduate student enrollment for the 2022 Spring Term. During the 13 weeks ended January 28, 2023, First Day Complete sales increased by $28,912 to $66,901, or 76%, as compared to $37,989 in the prior year period. During the 39 weeks ended January 28, 2023, First Day Complete sales increased by $83,752 to $173,380, or 94%, as compared to $89,628 in the prior year period. Partnership with Fanatics and Lids In December 2020, we entered into the F/L Partnership. Through this partnership, we receive unparalleled product assortment, e-commerce capabilities and powerful digital marketing tools to drive increased value for customers and accelerate growth of our general merchandise business. Fanatics’ cutting-edge e-commerce and technology expertise offers our campus stores expanded product selection, a world-class online and mobile experience, and a progressive direct-to-consumer platform. Coupled with Lids, the leading standalone brick and mortar retailer focused exclusively on licensed fan and alumni products, our campus stores have improved access to trend and sales performance data on licensees, product styles, and design treatments. We maintain our relationships with campus partners and remain responsible for staffing and managing the day-to-day operations of our campus bookstores. We also work closely with our campus partners to ensure that each campus store maintains unique aspects of in-store merchandising, including localized product assortments and specific styles and designs that reflect each campus’s brand. We leverage Fanatics’ e-commerce technology and expertise for the operational management of the emblematic merchandise and gift sections of our campus store websites. Lids manages in-store assortment planning and merchandising of emblematic apparel, headwear, and gift products for our partner campus stores, and Lids owns the inventory it manages, relieving us of the obligation to finance inventory purchases from working capital. COVID-19 Business Impact Our business has been significantly negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as many schools adjusted their learning models and on-campus activities. However, on campus traffic continues to grow from increased campus events and activities, as compared to the last two years. Our third quarter 2022 results were negatively impacted by a Covid variant experienced on campuses across the country during the 2022 Spring Term which did not recur during the 2023 Spring Term. While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is lessening, we cannot accurately predict the duration or extent of the impact of the COVID-19 virus, including variants, on enrollments, campus activities, university budgets, athletics and other areas that directly affect our business operations. Although most four year schools returned to a traditional on-campus environment, there is still uncertainty about the duration and extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including on enrollments at community colleges and by international students, the continuation of remote and hybrid class offerings, and its effect on our ability to source products, including textbooks and general merchandise offerings.

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (“BNED”) is one of the largest contract operators of physical and virtual bookstores for college and university campuses and K-12 institutions across the United States. We are also one of the largest textbook wholesalers, inventory management hardware and software providers, and a leading provider of digital education solutions. We operate 1,388 physical, virtual, and custom bookstores and serve more than 6 million students, delivering essential educational content, tools and general merchandise within a dynamic omnichannel retail environment. Additionally, we offer direct-to-student products and services to help students study more effectively and improve academic performance.

The strengths of our business include our ability to compete by developing new products and solutions to meet market needs, our large operating footprint with direct access to students and faculty, our well-established, deep relationships with academic partners and stable, long-term contracts and our well-recognized brands. We expect to continue to introduce scalable and advanced digital solutions focused largely on the student, expand our e-commerce capabilities and accelerate such capabilities through our merchandising partnership with Fanatics Retail Group Fulfillment, LLC, Inc. (“Fanatics”) and Fanatics Lids College, Inc. D/B/A "Lids" (“Lids”) (collectively referred to herein as the “F/L Partnership”), increase market share with new accounts, and expand our strategic opportunities through acquisitions and partnerships.

We expect gross general merchandise sales to increase over the long term, as our product assortments continue to emphasize and reflect changing consumer trends, and we evolve our presentation concepts and merchandising of products in stores and online, which we expect to be further enhanced and accelerated through the F/L Partnership. Through this partnership, we receive unparalleled product assortment, e-commerce capabilities and powerful digital marketing tools to drive increased value for customers and accelerate growth of our logo general merchandise business.

The Barnes & Noble brand (licensed from our former parent) along with our subsidiary brands, BNC and MBS, are synonymous with innovation in bookselling and campus retailing, and are widely recognized and respected brands in the United States. Our large college footprint, reputation, and credibility in the marketplace not only support our marketing efforts to universities, students, and faculty, but are also important to our relationship with leading publishers who rely on us as one of their primary distribution channels, and for being a trusted source for students in our direct-to-student digital solutions business.

We have three reportable segments: Retail, Wholesale and DSS. For additional information related to our strategies, operations and segments, see Part I - Item 1. Business in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022.

We provide product and service offerings designed to address the most pressing issues in higher education, including equitable access, enhanced convenience and improved affordability through innovative course material delivery models designed to drive improved student experiences and outcomes. We offer our BNC First Day® inclusive and equitable access programs, consisting of First Day Complete and First Day, in which course materials, including both physical and digital content, are offered at a reduced price through a course fee or included in tuition, and delivered to students on or before the first day of class.

•First Day Complete is adopted by an institution and includes all classes, providing students both physical and digital materials. The First Day Complete model drives substantially greater unit sales and sell-through for the bookstore.

Offering courseware sales through our inclusive and equitable access First Day Complete and First Day models is a key, and increasingly important strategic initiative of ours to meet the market demands of substantially reduced pricing to students, as well as the opportunity to improve student outcomes, while, at the same time, increasing our market share, revenue and relative gross profits of courseware sales given the higher volumes of units sold in such models as compared to historical sales models that rely on individual student marketing and sales. We expect these programs to allow us to ultimately reverse historical long-term trends in courseware revenue declines, which has occurred at those schools where such programs have been adopted. We are moving quickly and decisively to accelerate our First Day Complete strategy. We plan to move many institutions to First Day Complete for the Fall of 2023 and the majority of schools by Fall 2024.

As of January 28, 2023, 116 campus stores adopted our First Day Complete course materials delivery program for the 2023 Spring Term, representing approximately 580,000 in total undergraduate student enrollment (as reported by National Center for Education Statistics), compared to 76 campus stores representing approximately 380,000 in total undergraduate student enrollment for the 2022 Spring Term. During the 13 weeks ended January 28, 2023, First Day Complete sales increased by $28,912 to $66,901, or 76%, as compared to $37,989 in the prior year period. During the 39 weeks ended January 28, 2023, First Day Complete sales increased by $83,752 to $173,380, or 94%, as compared to $89,628 in the prior year period.

In December 2020, we entered into the F/L Partnership. Through this partnership, we receive unparalleled product assortment, e-commerce capabilities and powerful digital marketing tools to drive increased value for customers and accelerate growth of our general merchandise business. Fanatics’ cutting-edge e-commerce and technology expertise offers our campus stores expanded product selection, a world-class online and mobile experience, and a progressive direct-to-consumer platform. Coupled with Lids, the leading standalone brick and mortar retailer focused exclusively on licensed fan and alumni products, our campus stores have improved access to trend and sales performance data on licensees, product styles, and design treatments.

We maintain our relationships with campus partners and remain responsible for staffing and managing the day-to-day operations of our campus bookstores. We also work closely with our campus partners to ensure that each campus store maintains unique aspects of in-store merchandising, including localized product assortments and specific styles and designs that reflect each campus’s brand. We leverage Fanatics’ e-commerce technology and expertise for the operational management of the emblematic merchandise and gift sections of our campus store websites. Lids manages in-store assortment planning and merchandising of emblematic apparel, headwear, and gift products for our partner campus stores, and Lids owns the inventory it manages, relieving us of the obligation to finance inventory purchases from working capital.