If anyone can pull it off, James Daunt (the new MD) can. He's done exactly the same at Waterstones in the UK and it's made a huge difference: the bookshops have gone from "competent but uninspiring" to places where you genuinely want to spend time. And money.
I like Daunt, he genuinely seems to like selling books and he's reasonably ruthless about achieving the goals to get a business to health. His approach definitely seemed like a shock to the system for the business and the staff but it's been incredibly successful long term.
