Book giant Barnes and Noble's Chief Executive Officer, William Lynch, is resigning and being replaced by Chief Financial Officer Michael Huseby.  Huseby will serve as president and CEO of Nook Media.

Shares of the company, traded as BKS, fell on the news.

Analysts are expecting that the company will soon be broken up after its fourth quarter losses were double what was anticipated by market watchers.

Revenue from B&N's Nook e-reader fell by thirty-four percent.  For the year the company's digital sales increased just more than sixteen percent .  However, they decreased in the fourth quarter of FY2013 in part because of comparison to figures from 2012 which were catapulted by sales of "The Hunger Games" and "Fifty Shades of Grey."

Through a statement in a press release detailing its 2013 financial results the company reassures Nook readers against the device's demise by stating:

"The company will continue to offer its existing inventory of its high quality NOOK® HD and NOOK® HD+ devices at amazing prices through the holiday.  As always, Barnes & Noble will provide world-class pre- and post-sales support in its stores for its NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ customers, as well as ongoing software upgrades and improvements to the digital bookstore service."

The company operates 675 bookstores in the United States.

 

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