Why Borders Went Bankrupt (UPDATED x3)
Publishers Weekly reports "Borders Group has given in to the inevitable and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York… Borders said it will close… about 200 locations, within the next several weeks."
What isn't being reported is the real reason why Borders (and others) are in such bad shape. For example: "I wrote much of my first novel at Border's in Roseville, CA. Then it closed. So I went to the other Border's across town. Then I moved to L.A. and began going to the Border's in El Segundo. But their ridiculously loud music and arctic temperatures drove me out. So now I go to Starbucks. Why don't retailers make their stores more user-friendly? For example, it's a friggin lottery trying to find an electrical outlet so as to plug in one's laptop… Panera bread offers free Wi-Fi and an electrical outlet at every booth. And free coffee refills. Border's charges for the refill, which is stupid because I've already paid for the cup and the surcharge to cover the labor for filling it. If you can't give people what they want, you don't deserve to be in business."
You'll note that not once does the commenter say he went there to buy a book. Instead, he went there to write a novel, demand free coffee refills, and complain about the lack of electrical outlets and overall ambiance. Perhaps if he had PURCHASED A FUCKING BOOK UPON OCCASION, the situation wouldn't be so dire.
Bookstores are just that: STORES. If I want to watch a movie, I don't go to Best Buy and pop my DVD into one of their display models and kick back with some popcorn. I do it in the comfort of my home. If I want to write a novel and have free coffee refills, I stay the fuck home, sit at my desk and make a pot of coffee.
Bookstores should be for buying books. And Borders, B&N, and all the others shot themselves in the foot the moment they began positioning themselves as "a place to hang out" rather than "a place to spend money". But these are just my observations. As always, your mileage may vary.
UPDATE February 16:
1. Here is a list of the impacted stores.
2. Courtesy of The Beat, Borders owes Penguin Group (USA) $41.1 million, Hachette $36.9 million, Simon & Schuster $33.8 million, Random House $33.5 million, HarperCollins $25.8 million, and Diamond Comic Distributors $3.9 million.
UPDATE February 17:
1. Bryan Smith reports that "according to the bankruptcy filing, up to 75 more stores may be added to the list" of closed stores, in addition the the 200 closings announced yesterday.
2. Publisher's Weekly spoke off the record with a number of publishers who remain skeptical that the company can survive Chapter 11.
