theferrett on Livejournal has a post about
his reactions to the bankruptcy, with links to several of his older posts about Borders, including
how they killed themselves off by trying to save money:
Quote:
Many of those slow-moving books are the books that draw people to your store. Yes, that Theodore Sturgeon book only sells a copy a year, but the customer who buys that copy goes, "Holy God, I've been looking for that book for years. And this store has it? Oh my God, this place has everything!" By reducing your stock to the books that already sell, you're actually reducing the chances of amazing a customer with your selection, thus ensuring their eternal loyalty.
...
The cost-cutting didn't just stop at inventory, either; management trimmed all of the spendy niceties out of the budget, from the expensive (but comfortable) paper bags with handles to the in-store events funding. And that wouldn't be a bad idea, except that we're across the street from every B&N in existence. If you're going to bet the farm on the premise that we're significantly better than B&N, then you want to make damn sure that everything about us is a cut above them.
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