Borders files for bankruptcy

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by queentess

....I don't see Borders being able to pull itself out of the death spiral it's in. It's too late for it to make a comeback, and there's too much against it.

I agree. I don't think their management is up to the task -- in fact I doubt almost anyone could save them.

They can't save the stores in the long term; their time is limited. And they can't switch from Kobo without causing major distress to their ebook customers. And any competent employees are likely to jump ship, unless they plan to hang on to the bitter end.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by shorttimer1

....more and more people are closely watching their purse strings.

I believe this has been the case for the last few years, but there are several indications that Americans are already getting back to their profligate spending habits.

The recession just accelerated a process that was already under way.

[Catlady]

Thanks for the link to the list of store closings. I'm pleasantly surprised to find that my local Borders ISN'T on the hit list. It opened only a few years ago in a new mall that has been having major problems, and it never seems to have many shoppers. I thought for sure it would be a goner!

[boswd]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

In the near term, I think yes. Most people, I expect, think that Kobo is simply Borders' house brand similar to the Nook with B&N, and that Borders.com is where they need to buy their books.

I think Kobo probably should look at getting their readers into other retailers. If they can sell them for the $99 that Border's is currently selling them for, they might have a chance of building their market share.

I would love to see them become a serious competitor to Amazon. While I love my Sony's, its hard to justify the price of them generally (The PRS-650 was chosen for my wife because I was able to take advantage of their trade in plan plus a sale) and B&N's Nook is pretty much limited to the USA. So I would like a serious global competitor to Amazon to arise.

--
Bill

the do sell the kobo at walmart as well.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by queentess

Circuit City filed for chapter 11 originally. So did Linens n Things. Many (sorry, I can't find a stat) business that file chapter 11 eventually go on to chapter 7. Quite frankly, I don't see Borders being able to pull itself out of the death spiral it's in. It's too late for it to make a comeback, and there's too much against it.

you are probably right, but you never know. Many wrote Kmart's obit prematurely. Hearing similiar song and dance, "No way could they survive with rise of Walmart etc"

, with some closing up some stores that are bleeding money and restructuing you never know.

But I would guess even if the day came all their physical stores closed, they would still go on as an online ebook store.

[sakura-panda]

Originally Posted by queentess

Circuit City filed for chapter 11 originally. So did Linens n Things. Many (sorry, I can't find a stat) business that file chapter 11 eventually go on to chapter 7. Quite frankly, I don't see Borders being able to pull itself out of the death spiral it's in. It's too late for it to make a comeback, and there's too much against it.

Circuit City, Comp USA, and Linen's & Things are all stores that used to be B&M, but filed for bankruptcy and now have online storefronts only. I don't see why Borders couldn't (or shouldn't) go that route -- especially if they can continue to sell and ship physical media, like movies and CDs, along with their ebooks.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by sakura-panda

Circuit City, Comp USA, and Linen's & Things are all stores that used to be B&M, but filed for bankruptcy and now have online storefronts only. I don't see why Borders couldn't (or shouldn't) go that route -- especially if they can continue to sell and ship physical media, like movies and CDs, along with their ebooks.

In the case of CircuitCity and CompUSA, those online storefronts have nothing to do with the original stores. The names were sold after the stores went under.

CircuitCity, CompUSA, and TigerDirect are all owned by the same company - Systemax.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Thanks for the link to the list of store closings. I'm pleasantly surprised to find that my local Borders ISN'T on the hit list. It opened only a few years ago in a new mall that has been having major problems, and it never seems to have many shoppers. I thought for sure it would be a goner!

Sometimes companies' hands are tied by leases with tight terms, so it can be more costly to close a location than not. Under bankruptcy protection, companies can break or sell leases, depending on circumstances and a judge's decision. The current list of Borders closings might be just the start, even in the short term.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

In the case of CircuitCity and CompUSA, those online storefronts have nothing to do with the original stores. The names were sold after the stores went under.

CircuitCity, CompUSA, and TigerDirect are all owned by the same company - Systemax.

Yeah, the thing to remember is, that in a Bankruptcy Liquidation (assuming that is what happens to Borders), the courts generally do their best to sell everything of value that the Company owns in order to help pay creditors. Most people think in terms of the goods the company deals in, and maybe real estate they hold, but in this modern internet age, it usually includes the Trademarks as well, which includes the company name. While there might be only a tiny percentage of people who didn't hear about it, there will be some who didn't hear that CircuitCity went out of business, and if they do an internet search for them, they find the online store....


I suspect that if Borders does go under, its name will survive in some form online... maybe as a front end to Kobo's ebook store.

--
Bill

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by boswd

the do sell the kobo at walmart as well.

Thanks, though, I think they need to get into more stores. Shame that Target, these days, seems to only sell Kindles from their actual B&M stores.

--
Bill

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Yeah, the thing to remember is, that in a Bankruptcy Liquidation (assuming that is what happens to Borders), the courts generally do their best to sell everything of value that the Company owns in order to help pay creditors. Most people think in terms of the goods the company deals in, and maybe real estate they hold, but in this modern internet age, it usually includes the Trademarks as well, which includes the company name. While there might be only a tiny percentage of people who didn't hear about it, there will be some who didn't hear that CircuitCity went out of business, and if they do an internet search for them, they find the online store....

Yep; there's great value in those names. Sharper Image is another such case.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by boswd

you are probably right, but you never know. Many wrote Kmart's obit prematurely. Hearing similiar song and dance, "No way could they survive with rise of Walmart etc"

As I recall, Kmart only survived because it combined with the also-failing Sears. Maybe Borders and B&N need to finally hook up.

Kmart used to own Borders... guess they had the same poor management for a while.

[shorttimer1]

Yea, I remember when KMart bought Borders, probably 20 years ago. But if I remember correctly that marriage was fairly short in duration.

[Lemurion]

Our local Borders is closing, which doesn't make me happy.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Our local Borders is closing, which doesn't make me happy.

You can have one or two of mine if you want. I have 8 nearby and only 2 of them are closing.