Borders Says It Will Shut Down All of Its Stores for Good

[Ares]

Borders Group, the second-largest U.S. bookstore chain, said it has canceled an upcoming bankruptcy auction and will close its doors for good.

The company said in a statement Monday that it was unable to find a buyer willing to keep the company in operation and will sell itself to a group of liquidators led by Hilco Merchant Resources.

Borders' roughly 400 remaining stores will close, and nearly 11,000 jobs will be lost, according to the company.

"We are saddened by this development," Borders President Mike Edwards said in the statement.

"We were all working hard towards a different outcome, but the headwinds we have been facing for quite some time." Borders was unable to overcome competition from larger rival Barnes & Noble [BSK Unavailable () ] and from Amazon.com [AMZN 211.53 -1.34 (-0.63%) ], which began to dominate book retail when the industry shifted largely online.

Borders, which declared bankruptcy in February, also never caught up to its rivals' e-reader sales, namely Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook.

Borders had hoped to sell itself to buyout firm Najafi Cos, which owns the Book-of-the-Month Club.

While Najafi was willing to pay $435 million for the assets, the deal fell apart last week after creditors objected to terms that would have allowed Najafi to liquidate after completing the sale.

Earlier Monday, Reuters reported that Books-A-Million [BAMM 3.09 0.03 (+0.98%) ], the nation's third-largest bookstore chain, was in talks to acquire a small number of Borders stores, citing sources close to Borders' bankruptcy.

Representatives for Borders did not address the report when contacted by Reuters, and the company's statement did not say whether formal talks had taken place.

The Hilco group will begin liquidations as early as Friday, with the process to conclude sometime in September, Borders said.

The bookseller will seek bankruptcy court approval of the closing procedures at a hearing Thursday in U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan.

Andrew Glenn, an attorney for Borders, told Reuters last week the company expected a liquidation sale to bring in between $250 million and $284 million.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/43800979

[Ponce]

Book stores will closed down and more comp games stores will open which will create more idiots.

[Book]

America can still read?

[osoab]

Recovery Summer part Deux!

[Glass]

Borders took down an old Australian book store chain earlier this year when they went under. They went under just after Chirstmas which is pretty common apparently. Businesses try and stay together for the christmas sales. Lots of voucher business over christmas but it's all advanced cash flow. Product still has to be made available for people redeeming their vouchers months down the track.

[Shami-Amourae]

Book stores will closed down and more comp games stores will open which will create more idiots.

I make those games you know. We aren't idiots. I think this is a good thing since it means the establishment is losing control.

Video games are more intelligent than people think. Here's an example from Deus Ex:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1bcm4sczN0
This game came out in 2000, and it openly talks about the Rockefellers/Rothschilds.

[osoab]

Borders took down an old Australian book store chain earlier this year when they went under. They went under just after Chirstmas which is pretty common apparently. Businesses try and stay together for the christmas sales. Lots of voucher business over christmas but it's all advanced cash flow. Product still has to be made available for people redeeming their vouchers months down the track.

So Borders took a "Down Under" bookstore under? ;D

[midnight rambler]

I make those games you know. We aren't idiots.

Yeah, but the people who play them become idiots due to playing them.

Brawndo's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vw2CrY9Igs

Go away, I'm 'batin'.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMafLdEFgPQ

Idiocracy isn't something in the future, it's here now -


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE&feature=player_embedded#t=348s

[Shami-Amourae]

Yeah, but the people who play them become idiots due to playing them.


You're probably right. I do admit I cater to a smarter community that require my customers to think (roleplaying stuff). I just feel like the video game industry gets a bad rap for a lot of things, so it's hard to be objective.

[LuckyStrike]

No you guys all have it wrong.

Welcome To The Recovery
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/opinion/03geithner.html

[BabushkaLady]

No you guys all have it wrong.

Welcome To The Recovery
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/opinion/03geithner.html

I was going to have some cheesecake . . . that article piled on so much sugar I think I'll pass on dessert tonight.

As far as Borders going out; I hate to see digital books and internet companies get the business. I love my books and have all my favorite indie bookstores to visit still. I don't remember which big chain I visited last year; but they wouldn't order a book for me! They told me to go online. I told them to go to hell and went to my fav used book store and they ordered it for me. (Yeah, I have an online ordering allergy)

[ximmy]

No you guys all have it wrong.

Welcome To The Recovery
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/opinion/03geithner.html


I was going to have some cheesecake . . . that article piled on so much sugar I think I'll pass on dessert tonight.

As far as Borders going out; I hate to see digital books and internet companies get the business. I love my books and have all my favorite indie bookstores to visit still. I don't remember which big chain I visited last year; but they wouldn't order a book for me! They told me to go online. I told them to go to hell and went to my fav used book store and they ordered it for me. (Yeah, I have an online ordering allergy)

From article:
From the start, President Obama...
The plunge in economic activity started an entire year before President Obama took office...
The economic rescue package that President Obama put in place was essential to turning the economy around...
we are in a much stronger position to face them today than when President Obama took office...
And as the president said last week...

Thank Lord Obama, all is well...

[solid]

This is really sad, all the local bookstores are going belly up. Border's was great, get a cup of joe and browse the books. I still like paper books, flipping the pages as I read. It's all going kaput.

Add to that, Cisco system just announced 6500 layoffs.

If this is the recovery they talk about, we need to kick them in the ass.

[Silver Rocket Bitches!]

It'll be interesting to see how long Barnes & Noble can hold out.

[platinumdude]

I thought Obama said this was a recoverless economic recovery. Or something like that.

[AndreaGail]

with their outrageous prices (ie 24.95 dvds) im surprised they lasted that long

[solid]

It'll be interesting to see how long Barnes & Noble can hold out.

We lost both in my immediate area, Border's and Barnes and Nobles. Now they are these huge vacant buildings.

For those that may not be familiar with these stores, but they were more than just bookstores. During college, for example, you could go to Border's and grab coffee and study for your classes. A bunch of us use to go there just to socialize, there were always lot's of young people there. Sometimes, they would actually have live music. It was a healthy nightlife, for young folks, that didn't involve alcohol. There was always pretty gals there too.

These stores brought young folks together. I guess in this day an age, young folks stay at home more on the computer.

[beefsteak]

Something nostalgic about being in a bookstore...although I prefer used bookstores. More treasures on the shelves. Always felt like I was being electronically hovered over by the librarian in Borders.
Barnes and Noble isn't any better. Sad to see them closed. Glad to know a bunch of titles will now start appearing on amazon at affordable prices.

Another "Silver lining" and all that stuff...

[osoab]

It'll be interesting to see how long Barnes & Noble can hold out.

Record growth in Q3 and Q4 due to decreased competition.

[big country]

I think that B&N will hold out longer as they actually got involved in the ebook "revolution". Where borders just carried Sony ereaders and didn't try to get their own market. Like it or not, Ebooks are a significant part the future of books. I don't think we will see paper books go away for a LONG time though. Borders didn't innovate and got left behind (I actually used to work for Waldenbooks when I was in High School...) I see they weren't "Too big To Fail" though...

Take for example my own example about why I like ebooks.
I was on vacation for a week in a semi-remote location in montana, I have no idea where the closest book store was. I was reading a series on my nookcolor (B&N product) and finished the book I was reading and the next one which I had preloaded before the trip. The trip was only half over and now I had nothing to read. I found a wifi signal close by and I purchased the next two books in the series and was able to keep reading in my downtime. This was GREAT! I had material to read, I enjoyed the vacation, and if it hadn't been for the ebook "buy anywhere" luxury I would have been out of luck.

[Buddha]

I have no problem with this. Borders was always over priced and pretentious. A third of the store was dvds and cds anyway. Great, so I can no longer walk in there and get a 5$ cup of coffee, browse the ridiculously over priced and PC books, browse a music selection consisting of hip hop, trash rock, lady gaga, and non existent classical and jazz, then get offered a credit card upon check out. I don't know how I will go on. Oh wait I got it! I must be a genius! I'll buy the books I want from Amazon for maybe half the price, get free shipping, and pay no tax. Or, I'll go to my local used book store, they are numerous, and support a real local business and not some huge chain.

[solid]

I have no problem with this. Borders was always over priced and pretentious. A third of the store was dvds and cds anyway. Great, so I can no longer walk in there and get a 5$ cup of coffee buy a ridiculously over priced book, then get offered a credit card upon check out. I don't know how I will go on. Oh wait I got it! I must be a genius! I'll buy the books I want from Amazon for maybe half the price and get free shipping and pay no tax. Or, I'll go to my local used book store, they are numerous, and support a real local business and not some huge chain.

Border's were individually owned.

After you do that, why not go to Walmart and by some cheap chinese crap? Afterwards, start asking the question...why is America losing so many jobs? A buddy of mine paid for his college working at a Border's. We all have some great memories, fun times, because of Border's. As I posted earlier, Border's was much more than a bookstore, it was a culture for young people.

[Buddha]

After you do that, why not go to Walmart and by some cheap chinese crap? Afterwards, start asking the question...why is America losing so many jobs? A buddy of mine paid for his college working at a Border's. We all have some great memories, fun times, because of Border's. As I posted earlier, Border's was much more than a bookstore, it was a culture for young people.

Your going too far with this. They are selling the same books as Amazon, just at a higher mark up. If Borders was a culture for young people then I see why young people are the way that they are. I'm 25 My fond memories of Borders are along the lines of "Jesus look at these prices!" "Do you guys have the 13th Tribe here? No..." "Well I'll get a cup of coffee at least.." "Jesus look at these prices" Then getting a coffee and half pint baileys for the same price and going to my local used book store and browse for hours, and leave with 4 or 5 books that Borders would never have.

[Libertytree]

A little more salt for the fatally wounded US economy.

Cisco’s Dilemma: 6,500 Layoffs Might Not Be Enough (CSCO)



Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) seems as though it cannot win for losing. The company’s updated “action plan” involves a further organizational simplification, implying lower costs and layoffs. The company aims to trim $1 billion from its annual operating budget and it is going to lay off about 6,500 workers as a result. About 2,100 of those will be ‘voluntary early retirement’ plans, whatever that is. The plan calls for eliminating about 15% of vice president and above employees. That comes to a 9% total workforce reduction. There is more to this story than meets the eye. Employees in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere will be notified in the first week in August. Cisco said that this will come to a charge on GAAP earnings that is up to $1.3 billion as a result. Of that amount, some $750 million will be in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter and the balance of the charges will come throughout its fiscal 2012 year.
Cisco also confessed that it will incur other restructuring charges which “will be disclosed in earnings conference calls and in SEC filings.” Cisco did say that it was going transfer over a factory in Juarez, Mexico to Foxconn in a deal which would close by October. The company is selling the video and telecom equipment factory to Foxconn and this is a 5,000 person facility that it received when it acquired Scientific Atlanta in 2006. While it says that it assumed the 5,000-person facility, the company did not outline the full details of its number of workers there.
Where this layoff gets sad is that the reports that first came out went from around 5,000 workers to 10,000 workers before the week ended. Shares closed at $15.44 after a 1% drop and the stock is trading only at $15.45 in the after-hours session. It is a sad day when technology employees get laid off and then it is not enough to keep investors happy.
If this turnaround does not work then John Chambers is going to need to announce sometime in calendar 2012 that he is adding one more early retirement in with the restructuring plan. That would be his own retirement as CEO, even if he tries to maintain the Chairman title.
Could you imagine going back to the 1990s and telling investors that Cisco would be a dead stock for a decade and then that it was going to have to scale down its empire with layoffs after spending about 20 years buying entity after entity? There is a lesson to be learned: nothing lasts forever in stocks and public company. Literally, nothing.
JON C. OGG


Read more: Cisco’s Dilemma: 6,500 Layoffs Might Not Be Enough (CSCO) - 24/7 Wall St. (http://247wallst.com/2011/07/18/ciscos-dilemma-6500-layoffs-might-not-be-enough-csco/#ixzz1SZYpIyOT) http://247wallst.com/2011/07/18/ciscos-dilemma-6500-layoffs-might-not-be-enough-csco/#ixzz1SZYpIyOT

[solid]

If Borders was a culture for young people then I see why young people are the way that they are.

What, reading and educating themselves? That's a lot better than partying and drinking, or stuck indoors watching the brainwashing on TV or playing mindless video games.

[chad]

my observations of border, b & n, all of them is that they are places where people who have no intention of actually buying a $24.99 book hang out. 90% of the people in there have no intention of buying anything other than a cup of coffee or whatever it takes to "make them a customer," so they can lounge for 3 hours and sponge wi-fi.

[Libertytree]

What, reading and educating themselves? That's a lot better than partying and drinking, or stuck indoors watching the brainwashing on TV or playing mindless video games.

RWI? Reading While Intoxicated :) Of course a lot of people might think surfing GSUS with a cold beer to be an utter waste of time...but I'm not one of them.

[Buddha]

What, reading and educating themselves? That's a lot better than partying and drinking, or stuck indoors watching the brainwashing on TV or playing mindless video games.

Please Solid, hardly anyone bought books there, and 80% of the people I actually saw reading there were reading pop culture magazines. That's why they are closing. It was there for narcissistic people to hang out on their macs while looking at Facebook and drinking expensive coffee.

[solid]

RWI? Reading While Intoxicated :) Of course a lot of people might think surfing GSUS with a cold beer to be an utter waste of time...but I'm not one of them.

;D If there was a GSUS Bookstore that served cold beer, that would be pretty damn great! ;D

But, we are an online corner of the world I suppose. This place is very mind stimulating, educational. It's a good place for young folks to 'hang out', imo. Learn the truth.

[solid]

Please Solid, hardly anyone bought books there, and 80% of the people I actually saw reading there were reading pop culture magazines. That's why they are closing. It was there for narcissistic people to hang out on their macs while looking at Facebook and drinking expensive coffee.

I hear ya Buddha. For the most part, I was referring to 15 years or so ago, during my college days. Back then, the internet culture wasn't very big. Young people actually did go and study, read good books. Meet cute gals. :)

These days I do agree with your point. However, I still am going to really miss going there, getting a cup of coffee and browsing the isles of books. For me it was a great way to slow the pace of life down and just escape in the world of books, on more topics to imagine. Around here, I just don't understand it because there was always a line at the counter. People buying books. I did, these stores seemed to be doing well.

[Buddha]

I hear ya Buddha. For the most part, I was referring to 15 years or so ago, during my college days. Back then, the internet culture wasn't very big. Young people actually did go and study, read good books. Meet cute gals. :)

These days I do agree with your point. However, I still am going to really miss going there, getting a cup of coffee and browsing the isles of books. For me it was a great way to slow the pace of life down and just escape in the world of books, on more topics to imagine. Around here, I just don't understand it because there was always a line at the counter. People buying books. I did, these stores seemed to be doing well.

Yeah, I guess I'm too young to have seen it the way that it was. Last time I went in there they literally had about 1/8 of the store dedicated to "Vampire Romance" books.

Believe it or not I have Job interview today, supervisor position AT A WALMART NO LESS. There is a borders right by there and I'm gonna stop in after and see whats up.

[osoab]

Yeah, I guess I'm too young to have seen it the way that it was. Last time I went in there they literally had about 1/8 of the store dedicated to "Vampire Romance" books.

Believe it or not I have Job interview today, supervisor position AT A WALMART NO LESS. There is a borders right by there and I'm gonna stop in after and see whats up.

Sellout. ;D

[Buddha]

Sellout reporting in ;) Borders Field Report.

This Borders is huge, with a good amount of open space. Walked in and saw 8 people looking at magazines and another 7 or so browsing the bargain books. The cafe area had 12 people all with coffee on laptops. I saw 5 people in chairs reading books, 2 of which were on cell phones. There were about 20 -25 people in the rest of the store. I overheard 3 employees talking and they said that when the new store moves in (whatever that is I didn't intrude) the current Borders employees will have precedence. There were 3 people checking out. The books were still overpriced.

All in all, it didn't look real bad.

[AndreaGail]

our borders closed a couple months ago. besides their merchandise, they also had safes, desks, chairs, and other nice office equipment that seemed pretty reasonably priced

might want to go check it out if your in the market...