Borders closes its doors and files for liquidation

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Borders, which has been struggling to keep its doors open, has decided to liquidate all ownership and close its doors by the end of September.

Borders filed for bankruptcy and closed 30 percent of its stores in February. According to a news release from the company, the remaining 399 stores will soon follow suit and Borders, a chain that has been around for more than 40 years, will be sold off in pieces.

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Janis Frischknecht reads a book in the Provo Borders located at the Riverwoods Tuesday evening. Provo's Borders are shutting their doors in September.
“Following the best efforts of all parties, we are saddened by this development,” said Borders Group President Mike Edwards in the news release, which was released Monday. “We were all working hard towards a different outcome, but the headwinds we have been facing for quite some time, including the rapidly changing book industry, eReader revolution, and turbulent economy, have brought us to where we are now.”

According to the news release, Borders Group, Inc., headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. Borders offers a similar selection of media and books to competitors Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.

“I was just talking with my wife as we drove past Borders yesterday,” said Ed Cartel, a resident of Sacramento, Calif. “With Amazon growing so fast I thought Borders would go out of business soon. It is not surprising when everyone just buys books for the Kindle and the Nook anyway.”

The closest Borders to BYU campus is located in The Riverwoods in northern Provo. Although store manager Kirsten Kibildis has not commented on when the store will be closing, it is expected the Provo store will not stay open any longer than the end of September. Pending court rulings, some stores will close as soon as this Friday, the news release said. The remaining locations will close through a phased rollout of the program.

“For decades, Borders stores have been destinations within our communities, places where people have sought knowledge, entertainment, and enlightenment and connected with others who share their passion,” Edwards said in the release. “Everyone at Borders has helped millions of people discover new books, music and movies, and we all take pride in the role Borders has played in our customers’ lives. I extend a heartfelt thanks to all of our dedicated employees and our loyal customers.”

Borders offers a selection of textbooks which provide students with their books without having to wait for shipping.

“I just bought an Ansel Adams book for my photography class last week,” said Amy Oldroyd, a customer standing outside Borders. “I’m sad to hear it will be closing soon.”

 

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