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A merger would make sense, and would probably result in a lot of stores closing. At least in places where there are two stores close together (which is a lot of places). I'm not thrilled by bookstores closing, but closing bookstores is the reason the merger makes sense. Although competition from Amazon is a big problem for Border and B&N, a lot of their problems are self made and independent of Amazon. In the 90's, both of these companies expanded massively, building one or two superstores in areas that previously had only mall chains (such as Waldenbooks). Articles on publishing at this time were filled with concern about how these stores would destroy the independent bookstore (which was largely mythical for most people anyway). But it's pretty clear that this expansion was reckless...and put both companies in a vulnerable position when Amazon came along. So closing stores that compete directly with each other - and having a unified distribution center - is probably their best hope.
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