Borders Closing

15 years ago, it was all about Borders and Barnes & Nobles killing off the local mom & pop bookstores. Now, it’s the Internets killing off Borders. I guess Amazon is the winner…. Until Apple comes out with their Kindle iPod… And then we’ll be all “boo hoo poor Amazon…” Then, a couple years later, Microsoft (late to the game as usual) will release the buggy Zune Book Edition Reader, which will suck, but it will be popular because they’ll bundle it with Windows and the Xbox. After that, the world will blow up and monkeys will rule the universe and man will become slaves. It’s a slippery slope, people…

Bookseller Borders Group Inc. said it has received an extension on some conditions related to the potential sale of its Paperchase Products Ltd. stationery business to Pershing Square Capital Management LP. The company has struggled with liquidity and balance sheet concerns, but decided last month that it was no longer looking to sell itself, an option that had been considered for more than a year as part of a financial turnaround plan. – from Forbes

Borders bookstore on Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe is closing sometime in late January because of lagging sales, according to a corporate representative.

“We regularly evaluate our stores, and this particular location was not meeting sales expectations,” Borders spokeswoman Bonnie Schmick said.

The Tempe location is one of five Borders stores closing nationwide, Schmick said. Stores in Santa Monica, Calif., and Cincinnati are also shutting their doors.

- from Arizona

The Borders book store in Springdale will close Jan. 3 as the chain readies to open its new-concept location at Kenwood Towne Place this spring.

The store’s 37 employees will be offered jobs at other Borders and Waldenbooks locations and possibly at the new store, though it is not expected to open before March, said Borders Group Inc. spokeswoman Bonnie Schmick.

The two-story Borders store, at 28,000 square feet, will be one of the chain’s first new-concept stores. The design includes a digital center where shoppers can burn CDs or download books, interactive kiosks and 32-inch LCD screens in the food and travel sections. The first such store opened in Ann Arbor, Mich., in mid-February. – from bizjournal

Borders Books and Music — a staple of the Promenade for more than a decade and one of the last booksellers left in a city that takes pride in its cultural scene — will close its doors January 10, the latest victim of a tanking economy.

A hangout for book lovers who prowled its three floors of books and CDs, browsed in its reading nooks and sipped coffee in its café, Borders has long faced stiff competition from Barnes and Noble, which bookends the other edge of the Promenade.

The store, whose closure was announced with a large corporate-red sign posted near the front door this weekend, is one of five Borders stores closing nationwide, according to company officials. Stores in Tempe, Arizona and Cincinnati also are closing.

“We regularly evaluate our stores,” Borders spokeswoman Bonnie Schmick told the press. – from Here

This news isn’t brand new, they can’t blame this “on the economy” — here’s flashback stories:

Borders, the American-owned bookstore chain, could be up for sale after it suspended its dividend and hired advisers to review options for the business. The company blamed a weakening economy and higher borrowing costs for slowing sales. It has posted losses in seven of the last eight quarters.

The UK arm of the company was bought by Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson for £10 million last year.

Chief executive George Jones said: “We will be slowed in our progress and expect that we’ll reach them later than originally anticipated.”

- from TimesUK

The Borders Group, one of the nation’s largest book retailers, announced a new strategic plan yesterday to close nearly half of its Waldenbooks stores, sell off or franchise most of its 73 overseas superstores, sever its relationship with Amazon.com and start its own online retail site. – from NYTimes