Barnes & Noble, Not Brick & Mortar

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Following a brief surge after competitor Borders Group, Inc. went belly-up (see "TUOL" post 7/20/11), Barnes & Noble saw a near-11 percent drop in sales at its bookstores and on its Web site this past holiday season, according to a Reuters wire service article.

B & N CEO Mitchell Klipper told the Wall St. Journal that his company plans to shutter nearly a third of its brick and mortar bookstores over the next decade, according to the Reuters piece. The company, which presently operates 689 retail stores and  674 college bookstores as a separate chain, will likely reduce in size to roughly 500 stores within the next ten years, Klipper noted.

Online competition such as Amazon and the boom in e-books are contributing factors in the shrinking bookstore market.

UPDATE: Unwilling to Protect Our Borders

Image via WikipediaAnn Arbor, Michigan-based Borders Group, Inc. will shutter its remaining 399 Borders book stores nationwide, pink-slipping roughly 11,000 employees, threatening the sales of electronic books, and creating gaping holes of empty space in shopping malls around the country.

Earlier this year, Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy re-organization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Docket No. 11-10614) (see "TUOL" post 2/16/11). Creditors wouldn't bite on the offered bid from Najafi Cos. to keep the bookstore chain afloat, so at the scheduled court hearing on July 21, the company will seek bankruptcy court approval of liquidation of its assets by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, according to an article in USA Today and a blog post by Geekosystem.com. The liquidation will put money in vendors' pockets, but shopping malls and  urban store locations that drew browsers, if not buyers, aplenty, will go dark.

It's hard to remember that Borders was once the  leviathan "bad guy" that threatened small, independent bookstores, only to be undone itself by Amazon and WalMart.  The demise of Borders means further isolation in our society as people will order their books online, instead of recommending books to each other over a latte in the Borders' cafe.

Borders Books Turn to Chapter 11

Image via WikipediaBorders Group, Inc., the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based entity behind Borders Bookstore, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (In re Borders Group, Inc., Docket No. 11-10614).

Unable to compete with the online prowess of Amazon or the discounted prices of Walmart, Borders turned to Chapter 11. Its bankruptcy petition shows assets of $1.27 billion as against debts totaling $1.29 billion. Not surprisingly, among the company's largest unsecured creditors are publishing giants Penguin Putnam, Inc., $41.1 million; Hachette Book Group, $36.8 million and Simon & Schuster, Inc., $33.7 million.

While shielded by bankruptcy, Borders plans to reorganize the company and secure financing. Toward that end, the company purportedly already has lined up a $5 million-plus "debtor in possession" loan from GE Capital, according to a Wall St. Journal story. Reportedly, Borders plans to shutter 200 stores in the weeks ahead, roughly 30 percent of its locations.

Service was never Borders' strong suit, and  their limitless supply of animal calendars was disspiriting, but "TUOL" will miss the in-store cafe and occasional live entertainment.