Dive Brief:

• Barnes & Noble Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. plan to sell a co-branded Nook tablet, they announced Thursday.

• The New York City-based book selling chain will buy one million of the co-branded tablets, a version of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 4, over 15 months. No price has been revealed, but the Galaxy Tab 4 retails for from $200 to $350.

• The deal enables Barnes & Noble to possibly revive its Nook brand without siphoning resources from its more profitable book selling business.

   

Dive Insight:

With this deal, Barnes & Noble is making good on its talk last year to find a third party to make its Nook tablet and give the struggling division another chance. Samsung will be taking on manufacture and research and development of the device, leaving Barnes & Noble more resources to boost its book selling commerce. Its stores, college campuses, and website enterprises have done well in comparison to its Nook business.