Struggling chain says Nook is successful but costly. The well-polished statements leave little doubt that Barnes & Noble -- the sole surviving nationwide bookstore chain -- is having a hard time competing with Amazon and Apple, which dominate the e-reader and e-book markets. In a prepared statement, Lynch said that in order to capitalize on the rapid growth of the Nook digital business and B&N's position in the expanding market for digital content, the company is looking at separate the Nook business from its bookstore empire. Doing so would remove the drag on earnings the Nook represents and allow the digital business to raise capital independently of the book business.