No More Borders Any More
Posted on | December 21, 2009 | No Comments
The administrators of Borders bookstores in the UK have announced that the remaining 45 Borders and Books etc stores will close tomorrow and all staff will lose their jobs on Christmas Eve. The Times reported on the closure last Friday.
The reason? “The business has struggled with severe cashflow pressure this year after sales declines accelerated.
Stock levels were also hit as several of the company’s suppliers stopped or reduced its credit limits, while a number of credit insurers reduced their cover for the company.”
The administrators MCR had hoped to find a buyer but none had emerged resulting in another significant consolidation of bookselling in the UK.
From a publisher’s point of view, this can only be seen as making distribution more difficult as power is concentrated into a few big chains. major online stores and the remaining independent booksellers.
Borders were one of the pioneers of the concept of bookstore as a place to linger and browse books over coffee. They will be missed.
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