It almost did. It on this quarter turned a profit, the first since 2010. And it is surviving by diversifying from books. It's also the last remaining national book retailer.
Someone has to be last I guess. And BN has done a few things to stay relevant. They have the Nook, which is a decently popular e-book platform. I think ultimately they will go under though, or at least close up their retail stores. The demographic that likes to shop for physical books at a bookstore is an aging one.
What's stopped Amazon from killing Barnes and Noble?