Borders Close To Bankruptcy

[Jack Getze]

The struggling bookstore chain Borders Group Inc. may file for bankruptcy as early as next week, Bloomberg News and other reports said on Tuesday.

Citing three unnamed sources close to the matter, the Bloomberg report also said that of its 500 namesake book stores and 175 Waldenbooks stores, Borders will close about 150 of its locations.

Last week, Borders, which is the second-largest bookstore chain in the US after competitor Barnes & Noble, received $550 million in financing from General Electric Capital and announced it would put off payments to certain debtors in an attempt to stay afloat ahead of a potential bankruptcy filing.

Experts have pointed to Borders’ late adoption of electronic books and the bookstore chain’s reluctance to embrace technological changes as reasons for the company’s struggles.

[Robin Jarossi]

I was not a big fan of Borders in the UK, but was still sorry to see it close. All that is left now is Waterstone's, which I find a terrible shop, only selling the most heavily marketed new books around. If you want an Alistair MacLean or Len Deighton novel, forget it. As far as Waterstone's is concerned, they don't exist.

Mark is right. If you want anything cultish or just from the 90s or 80s, the mega-chain doesn't have it. The joy of wandering into a bookshop and discovering a novel is disappearing. Perhaps the best last hope of doing that is Foyle's in London. They still have a very good crime section.

Robin

CrimeTimePreview

[Jack Getze]

The WSJ reports Borders will file chapter 11 bankrupcy ion Monday.

Someone will buy the chain and close many stores, but most will stay up under a new reorganization. They could even call it Borders again. Who knows?

 

When I was a kid in the late 50s and 60s, every town had a record shop. We would go down on the weekend and buy rock and roll records, maybe even meet some touring star like Johnny Cash.

 

I have a hunch book stores are going the same way as the record store.

[Frank Gates]

This was quoted in the Japanese newspaper yesterday. My wife used to be a manager of Whitcoulls which owns Borders in NZ. Both chains are struggling to get sales.

[EDWARD C MORGAN]

Yes, but like "record shops", there will be some bookstores with owners who are creative, hard-working, and manage to carve out a niche. Heck, here in Nashville, there are two "record shops" that sell vinyl only! Don't know how well they do, but they've been there for eons.