Barnes & Noble May Close Hundreds of Stores: Report

For the past decade, Barnes & Noble has closed an average of 15 to 20 bookstores a year — most of them reportedly unprofitable.

With the new year just days old, there is a report that the largest bookseller in the country is posed to “severely decrease” the number of stores on its roster.

Barnes & Noble operates over 647 bookstores in the United States, including one at 110 Albany Turnpike in Canton in The Shoppes at Farmington Valley, according to goodreader.com.

“The number of bookstores will severely decrease April 30th, 2016 when over 442 leases are up for renewal. This represents substantially more than half of its stores,” goodreader.com reports.

While it’s not known how many leases will be renewed, the former Barnes & Noble retail group CEO Mitchell Klipper reportedly said the chain plans to have only 450 stores by 2022.