Is borders closing all of their stores?
Borders, also known as that bookstore that isn’t Barnes & Noble, will be closing their 399 remaining stores and laying off about 11,000 employees after yesterday’s deadline for new bids for the chain came and went, leaving only liquidation firms Gordon Brothers and Hilco as the only bidders.
Do You Remember Borders bookstores?
You might remember Borders bookstores. They were all over the country in the early 2000s, selling all kinds of books and even multimedia like CDs and movies. Their stores ranged from small outlets in shopping malls to huge buildings packed full of books. In 2003, according to NPR, there were more than 1,200 of the stores nationwide.
Is it sad to see so many bookstores close?
And the model wasn't working for so many other bookstores that have closed. And unless Barnes and Noble, the only true remaining chain bookstore left in America, and many of the smaller chains and independent stores still open find a way to quickly evolve, engaging customers to actively buy, they will follow the same path as Borders. It's sad, yes.
Why are Borders Books so popular?
Borders built a reputation on offering a huge variety of books — tens of thousands of titles in a single store — at a time when most bookstores could afford to stock a fraction of that. Borders also had an early technical advantage: a superior inventory system that could optimize, and even predict, what consumers across the nation would buy.
Does Borders bookstore still exist?
Their former stores only exist in abandoned real estate and horror stories swapped by former employees. Or do they? Not entirely! Many Borders Bookstores still exist, including several in Kuala Lumpur, under the aegis of various foreign companies who had purchased them before the dissolution of Borders Group.
When did Borders bookstore close down?
On July 22, 2011, Borders started closing its remaining 399 stores with a phased roll-out. Business operations ceased in September 2011.
Why did Borders Books close?
Yesterday, Borders (BGPIQ) finally gave up. After not finding a buyer, the financially-strapped bookstore chain decided to close. The fire sale could happen as soon as Friday. The economic climate and the digital book push both hurt a company that was traditionally an also-ran next to Barnes & Noble (BKS).
Who bought out Borders bookstore?
Kmart1992: Kmart buys Borders, then a Michigan-based chain of 21 book superstores in the Midwest and Northeast.
Can I still use my Borders gift card?
Earlier this week, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled that holders of Borders gift cards — some $210 million worth — are out of luck. The bookseller closed its last store in late 2011, and now its outstanding gift cards are finally, officially worthless.
How many Borders bookstores are there?
Borders operates 642 stores, including about 500 superstores as well as more than 100 smaller Waldenbooks locations.
Is Barnes and Noble still in business?
Barnes & Noble is the world's largest retail bookseller and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The Company operates over 600 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web's premier e-commerce sites, BN.com.
Who is Barnes and Nobles biggest competitor?
Answer: Barnes and Noble competes for market share in the retail book industry. The company's main competitor is Amazon Books. Amazon Books is a subsidiary of Amazon.com and operates online and physical retail stores. Other Barnes and Noble competitors include Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, and Powell's Book Store.
Does Amazon own Barnes Noble?
Bookseller Barnes & Noble, humbled by Amazon, has been sold to a hedge fund. New York — The onetime bookselling giant Barnes & Noble is being acquired by a hedge fund for $476 million. The national chain that many blamed for the demise of independent bookstores has been ravaged by Amazon.com and other online sellers.
Does Barnes and Noble own Borders?
Barnes & Noble bought Borders' customer loyalty list, which includes millions of names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers and some purchase information. B&N paid $13.9 million to acquire Borders' brand name and website, which the company plans to close Oct. 14.
How much did Borders sell for?
Founded in 1971, Borders grew from its Midwestern roots into a popular national bookstore chain after being bought for $190 million in 1992 by Kmart.
What was the reason for sales revenue fall of Borders?
Borders just got too big — so big in fact that many of its stores (an estimated 70 percent) were competing with a local Barnes & Noble's, offering a glut of book stores even as people were shifting to online shopping. When the recession hit in 2008-09, Borders was already carrying a huge debt load.
When did Borders bookstore open?
December 10, 1971, Ann Arbor, MIBorders Group / Founded
How many stores did Borders have at its peak?
At the time, Borders had 21 large stores and had valued itself at about $190 million, the New York Times reported at the time. 1994: Borders' flagship store moves from 303 S.
When did Waldenbooks close?
July 18, 2011Waldenbooks / Ceased operations
What was Borders known for?
The Borders Group, Inc. was a publicly held bookstore chain that closed its doors in September 2011. After Barnes & Noble, it was the second-largest bricks-and-mortar US bookstore chain, known for the innovation of creating the first superstore.
Why is Borders losing money?
The company has been losing money for five years because most customers felt just like Lanier, whether they knew what they were saying or not. That's the way they feel about many bookstores in America. They love to go there, look, browse, and relax.
How many square feet does Borders have?
So many customers liked to flip through some books, maybe even buying one every now and then. But Borders stores occupied 25,000 square feet on average, and it's hard to make a profit renting some of America's prime real estate at that level when people primarily enjoy looking at the only product you have to sell.
Where was Lanier shopping?
Lanier meant well, obviously. He was shopping at a Borders store in Michigan at the time , not far from the company's Ann Arbor headquarters.
Is Borders a park like bookstore?
In other words, bookstores in America have become more park-like for many consumers than action-oriented book buying spots. And Borders has been putting an exclamation mark on that reality for years, since it was the leader of that park-like pack nationally.
Is Borders closing?
Borders is closing, liquidating its remaining 399 stores and eliminating 10,700 jobs, and many people are wondering why. They loved the stores, they say. But the remarks of one sad customer speaking Monday sums it all up.
Is it sad to have bookstores open?
It's sad, yes. It's also the reality of this day. Bookstores have become park-like for many, a place to relax and look. But active buying is required to keep them open.
Would the stores have been great if they were truly park-like?
The stores would have been great if they were truly park-like, with government subsidies filling in for the lack of profit.
How many Borders stores are there?
Borders currently operates 399 stores and employs approximately 10,700 employees. Subject to the Court’s approval, under the proposal, liquidation is expected to commence for some stores and facilities as soon as Friday, July 22, with a phased rollout of the program which is expected to conclude by the end of September. Borders intends to liquidate under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code and, as a result, Borders expects to be able to pay vendors in the ordinary course for all expenses incurred during the bankruptcy cases.
Is Borders closing?
Borders, also known as that bookstore that isn’t Barnes & Noble, will be closing their 399 remaining stores and laying off about 11,000 employees after yesterday’s deadline for new bids for the chain came and went, leaving only liquidation firms Gordon Brothers and Hilco as the only bidders. Borders filed for bankruptcy in February, but as one may have guessed from the above news, the attempts to keep the chain alive didn’t go well, with Borders only receiving their first bid last month.
Where is Borders Books located?
A Borders store. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Borders Books was founded in 1971 by University of Michigan graduates Tom and Louis Borders, according to the Los Angeles Times. In 1992, Kmart stepped in and bought Borders and merged the bookseller with its previous acquisition, Waldenbooks, the New York Times reported.
When did Borders go bankrupt?
Financial struggles and the rise of e-commerce hurt Borders, and by 2007, the business had stopped earning a profit. In 2011, Borders applied for bankruptcy and ultimately liquidated its surviving locations.
When did Waldenbooks start?
The first Waldenbooks store launched in 1962, although its founders had been in the book-renting business since the 1930s. Kmart snapped up Waldenbooks in 1984. Within Kmart, Waldenbooks and Borders would eventually merge and then later spin off as an independent bookseller in 1995.
When was Bookstop founded?
Founded in 1982 in Texas, Bookstop grew rapidly across the country by offering customers bargains on books. Just seven years in, bookselling giant Barnes & Nobles swooped in to acquire the smaller retailer.
When did Kmart buy Borders?
In 1992 , Kmart stepped in and bought Borders and merged the bookseller with its previous acquisition, Waldenbooks, the New York Times reported. The acquisition quickly fell apart that same year, and Kmart dispensed with its book division.
When did Crown Books go bankrupt?
By 2001, the company was completely liquidated.
Is selling books an open book?
Making money selling books isn't always an open book. Plenty of successful book-selling chains came on the scene between the 1960s and 1980s. However, a number of them have closed their doors for good. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
When did Borders close?
It’s been almost exactly ten years since the last Borders bookstore closed, following the company’s February 2011 bankruptcy. Vacating roughly five hundred locations throughout 2011, the erstwhile king of brick-and-mortar book retailing left behind a massive real-estate footprint, millions in unused gift cards, and a lot of memories. (And did you know “Borders” was the last name of two brothers who founded the chain, and not a reference to expanding the borders of your mind?)
What happened to Borders when it went bankrupt?
When it went bankrupt, Borders was so big that its failure stranded over $200 million in unused gift cards, triggering a multi-year legal saga that ended in the Supreme Court declining to involve itself in the issue. Who knew a bookstore would help set a precedent that gift-card holders are basically out of luck when a company goes bankrupt?
Was Borders a popular bookstore?
It is hard to overstate, yet already difficult to remember, just how popular and big Borders was. More than Barnes & Noble, its similarly sized competitor, Borders was practically synonymous with bookstores during its height in the 1990s and early 2000s. In its heyday it was one of the finest and most successful examples of the category killer or “ medium-box ” store, a now-struggling retail concept that mixes discounting and large selection with curation and attention to quality.
When was Borders last profitable?
With so many people going online to buy books, Borders lost out. The last time it turned a profit was 2006. In February of this year, it filed for bankruptcy protection.
What was the advantage of Borders?
Borders also had an early technical advantage: a superior inventory system that could optimize, and even predict, what consumers across the nation would buy.
Does Barnes and Noble have an e-reader?
He says Barnes & Noble also invested in beefing up its online sales. Eventually, it also developed its own e-reader, the Nook.
Is Borders Group a liquidated company?
Borders Group Inc., the nation's second-largest bookstore chain, announced that it will liquidate the company.
Is Borders disappearing?
Wahlstrom says Borders is disappearing at a time when, as consumers, readers are more empowered than ever. He says he still reads paper books but also reads on his iPhone, computer or tablet.
