James Daunt, chief executive of U.K. book chain Waterstones — another Elliott Management property — is seeking to differentiate the chain’s 627 stores by giving store managers more autonomy over which books are given prominence, reports The Wall Street Journal. These and other measures helped Waterstones turn a £42.9 million (about $52 million) loss in 2012 into a £16.3 million profit in fiscal 2018.

“Barnes & Noble is what Waterstones used to be,” Daunt told the newspaper. “They run identical bookshops up and down the country. You should do what you want; there are no restrictions on what books you stock, how you display them, what you promote. Each bookshop is quite individual.”

Daunt says he does not envisage closing many stores but will seek to renegotiate the 20 percent of the chain’s leases that expire each year. The new owners also plan to open smaller bookstores in city centers and similar high-traffic locations.