[1] B. Dalton expanded to become the largest retailer of hardcover books in the United States, with 779 stores at the peak of the chain's success.

Barnes & Noble acquired the chain from Dayton's in 1987 and continued to operate it until a late 2009 announcement that the last 50 stores would be liquidated by January 2010.

Although the chain was originally intended to operate in downtowns and suburban areas, the majority of the stores were opened inside regional shopping malls.

[3][4] A flagship store opened in Manhattan in December 1978,[3] and between 1983 and 1986, the chain revived the Pickwick name as a discount bookstore.

By 1986, discounting practices by rival book chains had caused declining profits for B. Dalton stores, as had the decrease in new shopping malls.

In January 2010, Barnes & Noble closed the last 50 B. Dalton locations,[7] except for the stores at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York.

[9] Initially, B. Dalton targeted middle-class suburban customers, with stores that featured parquet flooring and wide aisles.

By November, NeoStar had failed to find a buyer and announced that all 707 stores owned by the company would close in the next year.

[11] By November 26, the plan to close the stores was halted, as NeoStar's assets were sold to an investor group led by retailer Leonard Riggio.