Borders' New Strategy for Survival: Stuffed Bears - Page 2

magicmonster · 09-04-2010, 07:50 PM

What I think is killing Borders is the way that the store is organized and the locations of some of their stores. I can never find anything at my local store and the location makes it hard to get in and out of the place. Between the two I gave up and go to Barnes and Noble. However they moved my local Barnes and Noble and getting in and out is harder now but I still can find what I need when I get paper books as gifts. I only by digital for myself.

Lady Fitzgerald · 09-04-2010, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by basschick

yet donuts and coffee go better with books than build a bear... or is it me?

I prefer the bear but I've had to stop collecting stuffed animals due to a lack of space, can't stand the taste of coffee (love the smell, though), and can't have donuts because of the sugar. What's left for me? Oh...wait...books!

jaxx6166 · 09-04-2010, 08:45 PM

I agree. Location killed Borders.

The closest one to me is about 40 miles south. The next closest is 20 miles south and east of me. There used to be in this mall, but the people that shopped there very rarely knew how to read. And the place kind of went down in the mid-90's and continued its downward spiral until it finally closed about 8 months ago.

I was never able to find anything when I went there either. The stores were disorganized, the CSR's had me use the kiosk because they didn't know where things were.

Meanwhile, there's like 6 B&N's near me, three BAMs and two used/indie stores.

bjones6416 · 09-05-2010, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Secret Agent Oso to the resue!

That's the plan.

Don

And think of all the disguises he can wear -- racecar driver, ballerina...

brecklundin · 09-05-2010, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

The big announcement from Borders is that most of its 500+ stores will start carrying items from Build-A-Bear, which sells kits that let kids make their own teddy bears.

Article at Bloomberg.com

This is a fantastic marriage full of synergy. (Build-a-Bear's stock has gone down to about a fifth of what it was worth 3 years ago.) I'd say there's at least 23% more synergy than the legendary AOL/Time-Warner merger.

Borders is also enthusiastic about their new rewards program, which adjusts the discount on hardcover books depending on whether you choose the free program or the subscription program.

See full article from DailyFinance: Article at Daily Finance

Thank god...I was worried about them. It's comforting to know that they have a solid business strategy and aren't just, you know, grasping at straws.

Geeze, I wonder what uber sneaky move they have in hidden under the covers as their next game changer....could it be Japanese Love Pillows on the shelves next to the bears? Or better yet they can setup a Build a "Real Doll" Kiosk and really clean up!!

CleverClothe · 09-06-2010, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyR

Hmmm, maybe they should start having Krispy Kreme, too, to replace (or enhance) their Cafe. Another fad that is hanging on but past its prime.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts are the best I have ever tasted. Never seen any other that could stay fresh for 3 days.

Lady Fitzgerald · 09-06-2010, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CleverClothe

Krispy Kreme doughnuts are the best I have ever tasted. Never seen any other that could stay fresh for 3 days.

Yuck! Too sweet!

bjones6416 · 09-06-2010, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CleverClothe

Krispy Kreme doughnuts are the best I have ever tasted. Never seen any other that could stay fresh for 3 days.

When I was a little girl, we sold boxes of KK donuts every year as a fundraiser for school. (People didn't worry quite so much then about the sugar and fat and all the bad stuff.) It was always very successful, particularly if you sold them in the neighborhoods on Saturday mornings! Even when I grew up and moved out into an apartment, I'd often find kids selling donuts on the weekend in the complex, and settle back and read the paper with a cup of coffee and a box of fresh Krispy Kremes. Ah, those were the days of no worries, no guilt.

carld · 09-06-2010, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjones6416

When I was a little girl, we sold boxes of KK donuts every year as a fundraiser for school. (People didn't worry quite so much then about the sugar and fat and all the bad stuff.) It was always very successful, particularly if you sold them in the neighborhoods on Saturday mornings! Even when I grew up and moved out into an apartment, I'd often find kids selling donuts on the weekend in the complex, and settle back and read the paper with a cup of coffee and a box of fresh Krispy Kremes. Ah, those were the days of no worries, no guilt.

I think my blood sugar went up 50 points just reading that.

xmiyux · 09-06-2010, 07:48 PM

I will be really sad when Borders closes down purely because it is the only place with a decent coffee shop in my small town.

bjones6416 · 09-06-2010, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

I think my blood sugar went up 50 points just reading that.

I know. My blood sugar went up 50 points just WRITING that.

some call me tim · 09-06-2010, 08:25 PM

I hope Borders manages to hang on somehow. Yeah, they're a big corporate bookstore chain, but I generally had good experiences there. I actually worked at one, oh, 10 years ago or so.

I've never experienced their locations to be much different than B&N, usually they'd be in somewhat close proximity to each other. One thing that Borders had for it was that they didn't censor their shelves. Some books were deemed too controversial, and B&N refused to carry them, but Borders accepted the risk.

I know one thing that hurt Borders, and I don't know if it's changed now, but they'd restructured the job ladder there after I left. It used to be that all starting booksellers had 3 main duties they had to perform on one shift: working the cash register, working the information desk, and taking care of a designated section (stocking/organizing.) When they restructured, they made it so that the starting position spent ALL of their shift working the cash registers. After a certain amount of time, as positions became open, an employee could move up off of the registers. This was even true for someone who had experience in the bookselling field (I found all this out after applying for a job in a new city a couple years after my first job at Borders). For 90% of the employees, working the registers was the most loathsome part of the shift. To add insult, Borders also dropped the starting wage for new employees, so that it was just barely above minimum wage. That kind of strategy effectively weeds out the people that might want to actually stay with a job and make something of it. So naturally, if you have a bunch of employees who aren't happy, you'll end up with customers who aren't happy, which has likely contributed to Borders' current plight.

Still that being said, I still like Borders, and if I'm forced to go to a mall, that's usually the one point of solace that I can find.

phenomshel · 09-07-2010, 01:04 AM

There are two chain bookstores in DeKalb, IL - and that's the nearest town to me that has a bookstore worth anything. As much as I love independent bookstores, the one in my town is lousy.
Anyway...one is a Borders, one is a B&N. I went to a signing at the Borders, and met one of their employees. Later he ended up on my Facebook. I got a post from him this week about how "ebook readers just aren't catching on". I refrained from asking him on which planet he is residing these days, and instead pointed out that Borders carries the Kobo, and their reader store is useless to me, as I live in the US, and my bank does not allow international transactions (the Kobo store is on a Canadian server). I also refrained from pointing out that the last three times I've been looking for a pbook, I've tried Borders first and they didn't have it, so I went to B&N, and they did. I did however, point him to Mobile Read for a wider view of the ebook reading population.

ManosHandsOfFate · 09-07-2010, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyR

Hmmm, maybe they should start having Krispy Kreme, too, to replace (or enhance) their Cafe. Another fad that is hanging on but past its prime.

I'm still amazed at how quickly and dramatically Krispy Kreme crashed and burned in Massachusetts when I lived there.

some call me tim · 09-07-2010, 06:33 PM

I never knew Krispy Kreme was a "big new thing." I remember stopping by KKs with my mom on the way to visit my grandmother a good 25+ years ago.

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09-04-2010, 07:50 PM	#16
magicmonster Groupie Posts: 170 Karma: 1033664 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Kindle 3, Nook Color, & Dell Axim X50v	What I think is killing Borders is the way that the store is organized and the locations of some of their stores. I can never find anything at my local store and the location makes it hard to get in and out of the place. Between the two I gave up and go to Barnes and Noble. However they moved my local Barnes and Noble and getting in and out is harder now but I still can find what I need when I get paper books as gifts. I only by digital for myself.

09-04-2010, 08:45 PM	#18
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	I agree. Location killed Borders. The closest one to me is about 40 miles south. The next closest is 20 miles south and east of me. There used to be in this mall, but the people that shopped there very rarely knew how to read. And the place kind of went down in the mid-90's and continued its downward spiral until it finally closed about 8 months ago. I was never able to find anything when I went there either. The stores were disorganized, the CSR's had me use the kiosk because they didn't know where things were. Meanwhile, there's like 6 B&N's near me, three BAMs and two used/indie stores.

09-06-2010, 07:48 PM	#25
xmiyux Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 106 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: West Virginia Device: Kindle 3	I will be really sad when Borders closes down purely because it is the only place with a decent coffee shop in my small town.

09-06-2010, 08:25 PM	#27
some call me tim Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 22620 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Device: Kindle Voyage, Kobo Libra	I hope Borders manages to hang on somehow. Yeah, they're a big corporate bookstore chain, but I generally had good experiences there. I actually worked at one, oh, 10 years ago or so. I've never experienced their locations to be much different than B&N, usually they'd be in somewhat close proximity to each other. One thing that Borders had for it was that they didn't censor their shelves. Some books were deemed too controversial, and B&N refused to carry them, but Borders accepted the risk. I know one thing that hurt Borders, and I don't know if it's changed now, but they'd restructured the job ladder there after I left. It used to be that all starting booksellers had 3 main duties they had to perform on one shift: working the cash register, working the information desk, and taking care of a designated section (stocking/organizing.) When they restructured, they made it so that the starting position spent ALL of their shift working the cash registers. After a certain amount of time, as positions became open, an employee could move up off of the registers. This was even true for someone who had experience in the bookselling field (I found all this out after applying for a job in a new city a couple years after my first job at Borders). For 90% of the employees, working the registers was the most loathsome part of the shift. To add insult, Borders also dropped the starting wage for new employees, so that it was just barely above minimum wage. That kind of strategy effectively weeds out the people that might want to actually stay with a job and make something of it. So naturally, if you have a bunch of employees who aren't happy, you'll end up with customers who aren't happy, which has likely contributed to Borders' current plight. Still that being said, I still like Borders, and if I'm forced to go to a mall, that's usually the one point of solace that I can find.

09-07-2010, 01:04 AM	#28
phenomshel ZCD BombShel Posts: 4,793 Karma: 8293322 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: The Frozen North (aka Illinois, USA) Device: iPad, STB Kindle Oasis	There are two chain bookstores in DeKalb, IL - and that's the nearest town to me that has a bookstore worth anything. As much as I love independent bookstores, the one in my town is lousy. Anyway...one is a Borders, one is a B&N. I went to a signing at the Borders, and met one of their employees. Later he ended up on my Facebook. I got a post from him this week about how "ebook readers just aren't catching on". I refrained from asking him on which planet he is residing these days, and instead pointed out that Borders carries the Kobo, and their reader store is useless to me, as I live in the US, and my bank does not allow international transactions (the Kobo store is on a Canadian server). I also refrained from pointing out that the last three times I've been looking for a pbook, I've tried Borders first and they didn't have it, so I went to B&N, and they did. I did however, point him to Mobile Read for a wider view of the ebook reading population.

09-07-2010, 06:33 PM	#30
some call me tim Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 22620 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Device: Kindle Voyage, Kobo Libra	I never knew Krispy Kreme was a "big new thing." I remember stopping by KKs with my mom on the way to visit my grandmother a good 25+ years ago.

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