Business

Barnes & Noble will open its first location in Woodbridge in January.

The new store will be located at Stonebridge in Potomac Town Center. It will be the New York City-based bookseller's second location in Prince William County.

"We made an extensive study of the local demographics and like the other tenants the center offers - we have been looking for some time in that market and were thrilled to find the right space," said company spokeswoman Amelia Mulinder.

According to Mulinder, the new store will be 11,000 square feet and have all the amenities that have come to be expected from the chain. This includes sales of books, movies, records, and an in-store cafe. The store is expected to hire more than 20 employees.

Barnes & Noble has seen growth over the last few years. The bookseller chain has opened eight new stores across the country in 2021 and plans to open several more in 2022. The new Woodbridge store would be among those recent locations.

According to Mulinder, Barnes & Noble has been experiencing double-digit sales growth this year compared to 2019. Physical book sales have been increasing industry-wide, which has been encouraging to the bookseller chain.

Over the last few years, sales in physical media have been on the rise. This has run contrary to beliefs that the disappearance of physical media would be imminent with the rise of digital media. However, sales numbers have been showing an increased interest in physical media before the coronavirus pandemic. This has translated not just in sales of books but in other media as well.

A September 2020 report by the Recording Industry Association of America found that vinyl records had outsold CDs in the first half of 2020. This is the first time that vinyl records had outsold any other physical music media since the 1980s.

"Our customers love the experience of visiting a bookstore to speak with actual booksellers - something that is not achieved with algorithms - browse and discover their next great read," says Mulinder.

Stonebridge in Potomac Town Center is located at 15101 Potomac Town Place in Woodbridge. The shopping center is anchored by Wegmans grocery store and features several restaurants, specialty stores, and a brewery.

Barnes and Noble also operate a location near Manassas, at 8117 Sudley Road.

Big-box booksellers are no stranger to Woodbridge. 2nd and Charles operates a store at 2904 Prince William Parkway, which opened as Borders books store in the 1990s.