Looks like it’s time to close the book on Borders.
The bankrupt bookstore chain will likely begin the liquidation process after it couldn’t come to terms with a bidder that would have kept its 399 nationwide stores operating.
The second-largest book chain behind Barnes & Noble is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan to approve a proposal from Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers to buy store assets. Liquidation sales could begin Friday.
Borders in Peoria is located in the Shoppes at Grand Prairie.
And we are reading this in an electronic format. Sad to say, Print is dead.
Except for fuzzy kids books and perhaps a few other hold out niches I agree. In ten years we’ll have a lot of shelf space opening up at the local libraries.
People said that about vinyl music albums, as well. Not only is that format not dead, but it is actually growing. I doubt books will go away, but bookstores may have to adapt to electronic formats. Hopefully, the fall of Borders will lead to a revival of the independent bookstores.
This is really sad indeed. I always thought they had waaay better customer service than B&N and carried a wider variety of books. I hate to see them go.
Conrad – nice sentiments but totally off the mark.
Vinyl albums are growing, but overall hard-copy music is shrinking as a whole. Also, Vinyl went from 100% market share to 0%. It is now “growing” as you say, but it is not a significant amount.
Also, I saw on the news they interviewed a couple of customers who are really going to miss Borders. Not enough of them, though. The “independent bookstores” aren’t coming back, either. The competition is too stiff.
In a few years, my kids will go off to college. I am sure they will download their textbooks onto a Kindle instead of carrying around backpacks full of dead-trees.
I know what you are saying, but I think the picture on vinyl sales and Indy bookstores may not be as bleak as you might believe.
Vinyl Gets Its Groove Back
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1702369,00.html
Google eBooks: Does it give independent bookstores a fighting chance?
http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2010/1207/Google-eBooks-Does-it-give-independent-bookstores-a-fighting-chance
Always sad to see a local business close, even if its time is passing. Especially true when the store closing doesn’t really have much if anything to do with local management/employees.
Recently caught this old podcast of This American Life that included a lot of comments from Peoria Circuit City employees about how they were treated when that store closed. Hopefully, Peoria is more civil with Borders employees:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/377/scenes-from-a-recession