Founded in 1873, Barnes & Noble is one of the largest booksellers in the United States and a publicly owned company. The company maintains more than 800 bookstores throughout the country and serves over 8 million customers per year. Its stores sell a variety of textbooks, academic titles, and medical and general trade books. The company s stores also offer a selection of videos, CDs, DVDs, games, biographies, magazines, and fiction and nonfiction books. Its stores are spread over an area of nearly 25,000 square feet and feature coffeehouses, lounge chairs and reading tables. The company s stores sell approximately 300 million books per year and attend more than 4,000 customer service requests per day. In addition, Barnes & Noble has publishing and distribution rights for over 10,000 titles. It provides shipping, delivery and online ordering services, as well as gift cards and discount and membership options. The company hosts nearly 100,000 community events, including fundraising activities, book fairs and reading programs. Barnes & Noble has been recognized as one of the leading brands in EquiTrend Brand Study by Harris Interactive. The company operates a subsidiary, BookStop, which maintains discount book superstores in Texas. Barnes & Noble serves individuals and the government, corporate and educational sectors.