Is this just a badly run business or one more step in the apparently inevitable kill-off of brick and mortar book stores by ebooks and Amazon?
Borders Group Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection Wednesday and said it will close about 30% of its stores nationwide in the coming weeks.
The struggling operator of the Borders and Waldenbooks chains sought protection from its creditors in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan a month after it warned it may have to restructure the company in Chapter 11.
“It has become increasingly clear that in light of the environment of curtailed customer spending… and the company’s lack of liquidity, Borders Group does not have the capital resources it needs to be a viable competitor,” said Borders Group President Mike Edwards in a statement.
The Chapter 11 filing will allow Borders to access new capital and reorganize its operations, Mr. Edwards said.
I’ve long thought the Big Chain/Big Box bookstores were living on borrowed time: they don’t know who they are “and” Kindle/Google/On Line is such a game changer.
They tried to establish a “small store/intimate feel” in a warehouse. Not enough places to sit/read/ponder and isn’t that a hinder to their revenue stream just to begin with? Then go to the food bar and not enough seats, too many people reading–more hindrance to their revenue stream. Do I want to buy a magazine someone else just spilled their coffee on?–another hindrance.
No, the model could “only work” if there was no competition. I will say the same for the smaller coffee shops/book stores. The same confused model just on a smaller scale. Maybe those efforts of individual love can live on the tax fraud going on. I hope so as I love all those places: another indicator they don’t have much of a chance in cut to the bone mass appeal structure our free market capitalism has morphed into.
Books are very heavy, so they are expensive to ship. There ought to be some great deals at the closing locations!
I love when this happens!
I bet not. Borders hasn’t seen a “great deal” in years. That was part of the problem.
#1 – Is that really you, Bobbo? Maybe your spell checker has stopped working.
Even though a convert to ebooks, I have to say this is a sad thing to see. Can B&N be far behind? But some of the points in #1 are certainly true. Go to Borders and step over and around the people sitting on the floor reading. And you’ve got a ten thousand square foot facility with a 100 square foot coffee shop. And the check out experience could only be less pleasant if they installed a receipt checker at the door.
Still, when I’m in the States I go there (and other bookstores) because I like books, dag nabbit! And buying a physical book includes the tactile pleasure of leafing through a tome and reading bits and pieces to see if you really want to own it. Not so much with ebooks. And, ever tried to return an ebook?
Oh, well. Maybe books are too important to fail. Uncle Obama might pull them out of the gutter with some new capital.
They ran the place like a public library, so I am not surprised.
Always had to step over bums sitting around messing up the books to find what you wanted.
Prices were sky high, to pay the expensive rents.
I buy my books used from Amazon, and pay 3.99 shipping. Still the cheapest way to buy a book.
Traditional books, newspapers, and magazines – and even “electronic” media such as CDs, DVDs and Blue-ray containing whatever will soon be mostly history.
Start saying goodbye to newspaper and magazine outlets. Book stores and libraries.
I feel sorry for the people on the floor loosing their jobs.
I rejoice with glee that the book publishers, music studios and all the other leeches will be the ones bleeding…
On the other hand I think there is a real chance that more artists/authors now can make a living. There is also a good chance that quality and diversity will prevail. At least the huge marketing budgets will be absent for trivia such as boy/girl bands.
Actually, I had not thought that one through. Probably the marketing/publicity companies will take a bit hit too. Nice (evil grin)
I don’t really see B&N going under since they are actively working to transition to a hybrid virtual/physical business model.
You just happen to be able to buy non-store associated ereaders (which are like noniOs/Android smartphones) at Borders. Borders is dying because they see that there’s a market segment they’re missing, but they aren’t reacting to it in a way that works.
B&N is likely to live on even if they have to go purely online at this point.
Animby–Yes, I am affected by bad spelling, bad typing, and private allusions, but a quick re-read of my post shows nothing amiss.
Ball’s in your court.
Bummer. It was a great place to browse thru magazines of all sorts and the occasional cruising.
I’m sure it was sad day when the last covered wagon seller went out of business. Why kill a tree and waste the ink and glue to do what a few meg file can do? Sure, it’s nice to feel the pages, not have to worry about battery life, and the smells of old/new books will be gone, but eventually, your money will almost completely be going directly to the author. Your favorite book might be from your coworker. Hell, you might become a best selling author. No need to find a publisher. Just decide what service you want your book on and BAM!
They already closed most of the Borders around here a few years ago. I always preferred Barnes and Noble. As others have stated, fewer bodies to stumble over and no food/drink mess.
Borders DID have a better magazine selection, but as the close by stores have been closed for some time, I won’t miss them.
places were disorganized, DIRTY and always had kids running amok. Meanwhile, the place was full of creeps. I could never find anything.
Figures, they made it a point to put as many small shops out of business (which was a disaster) this is just karma.
Another shrine to the cult of paper falls…
# 8 bobbo said, “Ball’s in your court.” You sneaky sumbitch. I didn’t know it was possible to edit things after they were posted. But, I’m grinnin’.
[Har! I think an editor read your earlier post and got busy. – ed.]
Anybody else notice the irony of a bookstore filing a “chapter” eleven?
I hate to see this happening but its going to eventually. If only Borders could match the prices that Amazon can it would be worth going to their stores and buying stuff. They over price their cds and dvds and it just does not make sense to buy there. Id love to be able to go to a borders and buy a Bluray dvd at the same prices that Amazon offers. Sadly that wont happen. Id buy my media locally if I could get it at the same price or maybe 1 or 2 percent above what amazon charges.
The question now is did #12 Diane ever encounter #9 Dallas?
As far as ebooks are concerned I like Barnes and Noble. The DRM is tied to your name and credit card number. They can’t take books back as Amazon has done with the Kindle, although the Nook may have this capability. I use a Jetbook reader and they can’t get to it.
As far as real books killing trees, trees are a crop. The time between planting and harvest is just a little longer. It is a bit strange to be driving through a “forest” and realize that these trees are in rows.
Can Barnes & Noble be far behind?
Soon the only place to get books will be in small boutique stores and on line.
The mass market is going to be defined by the viral one.
Its not that 1:N communications (the broadcast model) are totally obsolete, its just that N:M communications (the network model [which can totally subsume the 1:N model]) is far more capable.
The internet implements a N:M network model.
But it does so only and strictly for the electronic transmission of data.
However, it does so for all of it and for a merest fraction of the cost.
That difference in cost (from dollars for “real goods” produced by some body at a some location to pennies for “real information” by some body(ies) anywhere) allows for the network effect to disrupt the existing flow of goods and money.
Buy stock in FedEx, UPS, DHL, Purolator, any shipping and/or logistics company.
Easy, put a tariff on Amazon and other internet sales. This will improve employment for the local sellers.
#18 Soon the only place to get books will be in small boutique stores and on line.
Actually, that’s becoming true with a whole lot of things besides books. It seems that more and more, I’m looking for something..not necessarily something as unique as a book title or cd, but electronics, appliances, even cookware and such as well, and the products just aren’t in the local stores. Or if they are, Amazon has it for half the price.
Part of the problem is that there are just fewer and fewer stores out there. Take just electronics and department stores. Twenty years ago, we had Broadway, Bullocks, Mervyns, May Company, Robinsons, Orbach’s, Montgomery Ward and a few others in addition the the Macy’s, Sears, Pennys, Walmart, Target and sometimes Nordstrom.
We also had Circuit City, Federated, Silo, Adray’s (local chain) in addition to Best Buy and Fry’s. Both of the latter have gone decidedly downhill since Circuit City departed.
The last 3 times I was looking for a CD, I dropped by Best Buy only to find they didn’t have it. Common stuff…Beatles, Michael Jackson! Amazon got the sale.
But I will say that when it comes to shopping for books, particularly as gifts, nothing beats browsing in a brick and mortar store. You just happen upon things that you would never stumble across online.
In #21 Alfred Persson said: “keeping the latter tax free seems to be unfair competition.”
Its just hastening the inevitable.
The distribution of producers is about to undergo a diaspora of truly epic proportion.
There will be no need for cities.
All you will need is some wireless access point or some fiber optic cable for the information, some form of fabricator(Startrek replicator? 🙂 and some place to gather for social intercourse.
Of course, we will still have cities due to our innate gregariousness, but we won’t need them.
I look forward to being buried alongside with the socio-politico-economic structures of my world.
The reason why certain Borders shut down in my city, is because B&N, not Amazon or eBooks, build one of their stores right across the street.
I stopped going to Border’s years ago. B&N stores are cleaner with a more intelligent layout. B&N stock has held steady the last year. I don’t see them going under and with the Nook they are at least making an attempt to embrace the digital world.
How many Dan Brown novels and gay vampire calendars do I need?
The answer lies in the fact that they no longer have scrolls or clay tablets to read from.
Cursor_
#19 I prefer to let the open market decide where the economy goes. But I am sure you are a Democrat, aren’t you?
Borders franchises overseas are doing fine.
I won’t be happy till I can absorb a book telepathically. Like a vulcan mind meld sort of thingy.
As these local brick and mortar stores keep going out of business, our sales tax and real estate taxes will keep going up to fill their revenue generating void.
People don’t realize that when you buy things online… eventually you’ll still pay for these “faux” savings.
They sell CDs, books, and food. The market for at least two of those is going down.