Borders

Associated With

Tom and Louis Borders / Borders Book Shop (original founders); Borders Group, Inc. (later corporate entity) - co-founder of the original Borders Book Shop, later corporate entity and operator, brand

Defining Feature

Large stores combining books with music and films

Status

Defunct - Borders Group and certain subsidiaries filed Chapter 11 petitions on 16 February 2011

Overview

Borders turned book buying into a longer visit through large stores shared with music and films.

Brothers Tom and Louis Borders opened the first Borders Book Shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1971. The independent shop and its founders were distinct from the later Borders Group corporate entity.

By 30 January 2010, Borders Group operated 511 Borders superstores. The company and certain subsidiaries entered Chapter 11 the following year with a plan to close 226 underperforming locations.

Why It Mattered

The superstore format made buying a book part of a longer visit rather than a quick transaction. Its decline captured the pressure facing large physical media retailers as online shopping, digital formats and changing habits challenged the cost of operating hundreds of expansive stores.

Origins and Store Offer

• Brothers Tom and Louis Borders opened the first Borders Book Shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1971.
• The original shop and its founders were distinct from the later Borders Group, Inc. corporate entity.
• Borders Group described itself as an operator of book, music and movie superstores.
• Its retail operation also included smaller-format bookstore brands and Borders.com.

The 2010 Superstore Footprint

• At 30 January 2010, Borders reported 511 superstores.
• Of those stores, 508 were in the United States and three were in Puerto Rico.

The 2011 Restructuring

• Borders and certain subsidiaries filed Chapter 11 petitions on 16 February 2011.
• The filing recorded a plan to close 226 underperforming superstores and liquidate inventory at 200 selected stores.

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