Barnes & Noble store sales rise

Barnes & Noble Inc.’s bricks-and-mortar stores had an upbeat holiday shopping season.

The bookseller said sales at stores open at least a year — considered a key measure of a retailer’s health — rose 1.6% in the nine weeks that ended Saturday, compared with the same period a year earlier. When Nook e-book products are included, sales at stores open at least a year rose 0.6%.

However, the New York company said overall sales slipped 0.8% to $1.1 billion in the period because of lower online sales and store closures. It has been grappling with lower sales of its Nook devices and e-books.