Is Borders on the brink of bankruptcy?
People close to Borders Group, the national book retailer, said it may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as early as Monday or Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the WSJ, talks between the bookseller and creditors, including publishers, have failed to result in a restructuring plan that would have enabled new financing.
In a Friday report, the Wall Street Journal wrote:
Borders warned of looming cash problems in December and stopped paying certain bills, leaving publishers, landlords and others in the lurch. The company reached a tentative deal with GE Capital for a new $550-million secured credit line that came with several tough conditions.
To get the financing and avoid bankruptcy, Borders needed to persuade publishers or others to convert unpaid bills to $125 million in loans.
Publishers balked at the request and told Borders it wanted the company to use bankruptcy proceedings to close stores and become more viable, said a person familiar with the situation.
According to the WSJ's sources, Borders may soon close 200 of its 674 stores, meaning the loss of thousands of jobs. And hundreds of places for readers to buy books.
Also:
Westwood's Borders takes a bow
Borders moves toward financing, but doesn't rule out bankruptcy
-- Carolyn Kellogg
Photo: A Borders bookstore in New York. Credit: Bloomberg
A sad day in retail if Borders bites the dust.
Posted by: Jenny Tulwortz | February 11, 2011 at 08:52 PM
Really too bad. I think they too heavy got into CD's just when MP3 downloading came along. The one I go to in Indiana had a great DVD section, then stripped that down. The stock has been more books again, but it may be hard to sell books in general with the new electronic devices cutting into more sales. I hope other large chains spring up to fill the gap- intellectualism seems on the wane, and it's just plain someplace to go....
Posted by: harpon | February 12, 2011 at 05:05 AM
Maybe yes, maybe no. But California and Nevada certainly are!
Posted by: mipak | February 12, 2011 at 05:44 AM
When the big box superstore corporations like Borders. Blockbuster, etc. etc. came in 15 years ago and destroyed small town business, they took away what made America great. Now they are all going in the toilet. I can't say I'm very upset. I hope this brings back the neighborhood in some way.
Posted by: Jean | February 12, 2011 at 03:16 PM
Crown. Gone.
Independents. Mostly gone.
Borders?
Folks, if you peruse in the store and then buy from amazon, you're killing brick and mortar retail.
Posted by: James | February 12, 2011 at 07:25 PM
I hate to see it come to this point as Borders is my choice for a Book Store in my city. They are courteous, clean and have a good supply of what I like to read. Ordering is a snap too. But... times are changing too.
Posted by: Norm Silver | February 12, 2011 at 10:59 PM
Borders is a MUCH nicer place to shop than Barnes & Noble. Please, Borders, do what you can to stay open for your loyal customers!
Posted by: Sandy | February 13, 2011 at 02:36 AM
Last week I stopped in at Borders to purchase Clive Cussler's new book only to find the price, with tax exceeded $31.00. I ended up purchasing it online for 1/2 that cost. End of story, and an end to an era. We walk with our wallets.
Posted by: SvBrooks | February 13, 2011 at 05:25 AM
Having been complicite in eliminating hundreds of local bookstors, Borders now bites the dust.
And the publishers and lables having given them the upper hand on pricing are now hanging on to unpaid invoices. Its hard to squeeze up a tear for any of them.
Cheap is not always best is it?
Posted by: Hugh Porter | February 13, 2011 at 11:27 PM